BE*KEIEY\ 

LIBRARY 

r  OF     I 

HA  y 


UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 


TWO  YEARS  IN  OREGON, 


BY 

WALLIS    NASH, 

AUTHOR  OF  "OREGON,  THERE  AND  BACK  IN  1877.' 


Straight  mine  eye  hath  caught  new  pleasures, 
While  the  landscape  round  it  measures, 
Russet  lawns,  and  fallows  gray, 
Where  the  nibbling  flocks  do  stray ; 
Mountains  on  whose  barren  breast 
The  lab'ring  clouds  do  often  rest ; 
Meadows  trim  with  daisies  pied ; 
Shallow  brooks,  and  rivers  wide. 

I/ALLEGBO. 

Turn,  Fortune,  turn  thy  wheel  with  smile  or  frown-, 
With  that  wild  wheel  we  go  not  up  or  down ; 

Our  hoard  is  little,  but  our  hearts  are  great ; 
Smile  and  we  smile,  the  lords  of  many  lands; 
Frown  and  we  smile,  the  lords  of  our  own  hands  ; 

For  man  is  man  and  master  of  his  fate. 

TENNYSON. 


NEW  YORK: 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

1,    3,    AND     5    BOND    STREET. 

1882. 


COP7RIGHT   BY 

D     APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 

1881. 


I     DEDICATE     THIS     BOOK 

TO 

MY    FATHER, 

WHO,    THOUGH    SEVERED    FEOM    US   BY    LAND    AND    OCEAN, 
YET    LIVES    WITH    US    IN    SPIEIT, 


M374S13 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


IT  is  my  grateful  task  to  recognize  the  marked 
kindness  with  which  my  modest  volume  has  been 
received  by  the  public  and  the  press.  It  is  rare  that 
a  second  edition  of  a  work  of  the  kind  should  be 
called  for  within  three  months  of  the  first  issue, 
and  still  more  rare  that,  out  of  a  vast  number  of 
reviews  by  the  leading  journals  all  over  the  coun- 
try, but  one  newspaper,  and  that  the  one  I  deemed 
it  my  duty  to  the  State  of  Oregon  to  denounce  (on 
page  216),  has  found  aught  but  words  of  commen- 
dation. 

I  desire  also  to  tender  my  apologies  to  the  es- 
teemed Roman  Catholic  Archbishop,  and  to  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  of  Portland,  for  the  error  on  my 
part  in  ascribing  to  Bishop  Morris,  of  the  Episco- 
pal Church,  the  credit  of  St.  Vincent's  Hospital. 

I  ought  not  to  have  forgotten  to  notice  the  Good 


4          PREFACE  TO   THE  SECOND  EDITION. 

Samaritan  Hospital  and  Orphanage  founded  by 
Bishop  Morris. 

A  single  remark  should  be  added  about  the 
price  or  value  given,  on  page  70,  for  seed-wheat  as 
an  element  of  the  cost  of  the  crop  raised  from  it. 

The  wheat  reserved  by  the  farmer  for  this  pur- 
pose, being  exempt  from  the  charges  and  waste  in- 
cident to  hauling,  storage,  insurance,  and  sacking, 
necessary  in  marketing,  is  fairly  estimated  at  sev- 
enty cents,  though  the  marketed  portion  of  the  crop 
averages  eighty-five  to  ninety  cents;  the  difference 
being  composed,  in  part,  of  profit. 

W.  K 


PKEFACE. 


I  SEND  forth  this  book,  as  sequel  to  the  sketch 
published  three  years  ago,  with  many  misgivings— 
rather  as  if  one  who,  as  a  lover,  had  written  poems 
in  praise  of  his  mistress,  should,  as  a  two  years'  hus- 
band, give  to  the  world  his  experience  of  the  fireside 
charms  and  household  excellences  of  his  wife.  Per- 
haps the  latter  might  more  faithfully  picture  her 
than  when  she  was  seen  through  the  glamour  of  a  first 
love. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  true  that  the  questions 
put  from  many  lands,  as  to  how  we  fare  in  this  West- 
ern country,  demand  fuller  answers  than  mere  letter- 
writing  can  convey.  I  trust  that  those  correspond- 
ents who  are  yet  unanswered  personally  will  find 
herein  the  knowledge  they  are  seeking,  and  will 
accept  the  assurance  that  they  are  themselves  to 
blame  for  some  of  the  more  solid  and  tedious  chap- 
ters; as,  if  I  had  not  known  that  such  information 


6  PREFACE. 

were  needed,  I  would  not  have  ventured  to  put  in 
print  again  that  which  previous  and  better  authors 
have  given  to  the  world. 

"While  I  have  striven  to  write  what  is  really  a 
guide-book  to  Oregon  for  the  intending  emigrant, 
others  may  be  interested  in  the  picture  of  a  young 
community  shaping  the  details  of  their  common  life, 
and  claiming  and  taking  possession  of  a  heritage  in 
the  wilderness. 

No  one  can  go  farther  "West  than  we  have  done  : 
it  is  fair,  then,  to  suppose  that  the  purposes  of  the 
Western  movement  will  be  seen  here  in  their  fullest 
operation. 

Since  1877  a  vast  change  has  taken  place  in  this, 
that  Oregon  now  shares  with  older  States  the  benefits 
of  becoming  the  theatre  for  large  railroad  operations. 

No  apology  to  American  readers  is  needed  for  the 
endeavor  to  show  things  in  a  fairer  light  and  differ- 
ent color  from  those  chosen  by  persons  interested  in 
causing  all  men  to  see  with  their  eyes.  Transatlantic 
readers  may  not  have  the  same  concern;  but  even 
from  them  I  bespeak  a  hearing  in  matters  which  may 
indirectly,  if  not  directly,  touch  their  interests. 

But  I  do  not  wish  to  suggest  that  I  write  as  hav- 
ing only  a  general  feeling  that  certain  things  would 
be  the  better  for  a  more  open  discussion  than  they 
have  hitherto  received.  My  own  affairs,  and  those  of 


PREFACE.  7 

many  friends,  both  in  Oregon  and  elsewhere,  and, 
indeed,  the  successful  development  of  this  great  Wil- 
lamette Valley,  largely  depend  on  our  convincing  an 
unprejudiced  public  that  Nature  is  on  our  side  in  the 
effort  we  are  making  to  secure  a  direct  and  near  out- 
let to  the  great  world. 

I  only  claim  in  these  particulars  to  be  an  advocate, 
but  I  add  to  this  a  full  and  honest  conviction  of  the 
justice  of  the  views  for  which  I  contend. 

To  turn  again  to  more  general  matters,  I  have  the 
pleasant  duty  of  thanking  several  friends  who  have 
contributed  to  the  information  here  collected. 

To  our  shame  be  it  said  that  there  was  not,  among 
our  English  immigrants,  one  naturalist  who  could 
rightly  name  the  birds,  beasts,  fishes,  and  insects  in 
our  Western  home.  But  I  was  fortunate  in  finding  an 
American  friend,  Mr.  O.  B.  Johnson,  of  Salem,  whose 
complete  and  accurate  knowledge  of  these  subjects 
only  rendered  more  easy  his  kindly  endeavors  to  give 
me  the  benefit  of  all  his  stores. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  also  the  care  with  which, 
ever  since  our  visit  in  1877,  the  professors  at  the 
Corvallis  Agricultural  College  have  kept  the  records 
of  climate  and  rainfall,  the  results  of  which  are  now 
published. 

I  trust  that,  if  any  sketches  in  these  pages  are 
recognized  as  portraits,  not  one  grain  of  offense  will 


8  PREFACE. 

be  taken  by  those  who  have  unwittingly  served  as 
models  in  the  life-studio. 

Or  that,  if  any  effect  is  produced,  it  may  be  as 
good  and  lasting  as  that  which  followed  on  a  fancy 
picture  in  the  former  book,  in  which  many  stray 
touches  were  collected.  Whether  the  cap  fitted,  or 
was  pressed  on  his  head  by  too  officious  neighbors,  I 
know  not ;  but  this  I  know,  that  cleared  fields,  neat 
fences,  new  barn,  clean  house,  and  fitting  furniture, 
rendered  it  impossible  for  me  to  recognize  a  tumble- 
down place  which  then  served  to  point  a  warning. 
These  improvements,  I  am  told,  the  owner  lays  at  my 
unconscious  door. 

WALLIS  NASH. 
CORVALLIS,  OREGON,  April  14,  1831. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Personal  reasons  for  coming  to  Oregon — Plans  of  colonizing — Who 
came — Who  have  returned — Who  remain — Bowie-knives  and 
revolvers — A  sheriff  in  danger — No  tragedy — Our  landing  at 
Corvallis — Frail  houses — Pleasant  welcome — The  barber's  shop 
—  Its  customers  —  Given  names  —  New  acquaintances  —  Bright 
dresses — Keligious  denominations 17 


CHAPTER  H. 

"Where  we  Iiv3— Snow-peaks  and  distant  prospects— Forest-fires— 
The  Coast  Mountains  and  Mary's  Peak — Sunset  in  Oregon- 
Farmhouses:  the  log-cabin,  the  box-house,  the  frame-house — 
Dinner  at  the  farm — Slay  and  eat — A  rash  chicken — Bread- 
making  by  amateurs — Thrift  and  unthrift — Butter  and  cheese — 
Products  of  the  "  range,"  farm,  and  garden— Wheat- growing. . .  26 


CHAPTER   III. 

The  land-office ;  its  object  and  functionaries — How  to  find  your  land 
—  Section  33 — The  great  conflagration — The  survivors  of  the  fire 
—The  burnt  timber  and  the  brush— The  clearing-party— Chop- 
ping by  beginners — Cooking,  amateur  and  professional — The 
wild-cat  —  Deer  and  hunting  —  Piling  brush  —  Dear  and  cheap 
clearing — The  skillful  axeman — Clearing  by  Chinamen — Drag- 
ging out  stumps  —  What  profits  the  farmer  may  expect  on  a 
valley  farm — On  a  foot-hills  farm 36 


10  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEK  IV. 

PAGE 

A  spring  ride  in  Oregon — The  start — The  equipment — Horses  and  sad- 
dlery—Packs— The  roadside — Bird  fellow-travelers — Snakes— 
The  nearest  farm — Bees — The  great  pasture — The  poisonous  lark- 
spur— Market-gardening — The  Cardwell  Hill — The  hill-top — 
The  water-shed — Mary  River — Grain's — The  Yaquina  Valley — 
Brush,  grass,  and  fern — The  young  Englishmen's  new  home — A 
rustic  bridge— "  Chuck-holes  "—The  road  supervisor— Trapp's 
— The  mill-dam— Salmon-pass  law — Minnows  and  crawfish — 
The  Pacific  at  rest — Yaquina — Newport 48 

CHAPTER  V. 

Hay -harvest — Timothy-grass — Permanent  pasture — Hay-making  by 
express — The  mower  and  reaper — Hay-stacks  as  novelties — 
"Wheat-harvest— Thrashing— The  "  thrashing  crowd  "— "  Head- 
ers" and  "self-binders" — Twine-binders  and  home-grown  flax 
— Green  food  for  cows — Indian  corn,  vetches — Wild-oats  in 
-wheat— Tar- weed  the  new  enemy— Cost  of  harvesting— By  hired 
machines — By  purchased  machines — Cost  of  wheat-growing  in 
the  Willamette  Valley 62 


CHAPTER   VI. 

The  farmer's  sports  and  pastimes — Deer-hunting  tales — A  roadside 
yarn — Still-hunting — Hunting  with  hounds — An  early  morn- 
ing's sport— Elk— The  pursuit— The  kill— Camp  on  Beaver 
Creek — Flounder-spearing  by  torchlight— Flounder-fishing  by 
day — In  the  bay — Rock  oysters — The  evening  view — The  general 
Btorc — Skins — Sea-otters — Their  habits — The  sea-otter  hunters — 
Common  otter— The  mink  and  his  prey 72 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Birds  in  Oregon— Lark— Quail— Grouse— Ruffed  grouse— Wild-geese 
—Manoeuvres  in  the  air— Wild-ducks— Mallard— Teal— Pintail 
—Wheat-duck— Black  duck— Wood-cluck— Snipe— Fl  ight-shoot- 
ing— Stewart's  Slough— Bitterns— Eagles— Hawks— Horned  owls 
—Woodpeckers— Blue-jays— Canaries— The  canary  that  had  seen 
the  world  —  Blue-birds  —  Bullfinches  —  Snow-bunting  —  Hum- 
ming-birds at  home 91 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

PAGE 

Up  to  the  Cascades — Farming  by  happy-go-lucky — The  foot-hills — 
Sweet  Home  Valley — Its  name,  and  how  deserved  and  proved — 
The  road  by  the  Santiam — Eastward  and  upward — Timber — 
Lower  Soda  Springs — Different  vegetation — Upper  Soda  Springs 
—  Mr.  Keith  —  Our  reception — His  home  and  surroundings — 
Emigrants  on  the  road— The  emigrant's  dog — Off  to  the  Spokane 
— Whence  they  came — Where  they  were  bound — Still  eastward 
— Fish  Lake — Clear  Lake — Fly-fishing  in  still  water — The  down 
slope  east  —  Lava-beds  —  Bunch-grass  — The  valleys  in  Eastern 
Oregon — Their  products  — Wheat-growing  there — Cattle-ranch- 
ers— Their  home— Their  life — In  the  saddle  and  away— Brand- 
ing-time—Hay  for  the  winter— The  Malheur  reservation— The 
Indians'  outbreak — The  building  of  the  road — When,  how,  and 
by  whom  built — The  opening  of  the  pass— The  history  of  the 
road— Squatters— The  special  agent  from  Washington— A  sham 
survey 100 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Indian  fair  at  Brownsville — Ponies — The  lasso — Breaking-in — The 
purchase — "  Bucking"  extraordinary — Sheep-farming  in  Eastern 
Oregon — Merinos — The  sheep-herder — Muttons  for  company — A 
good  offer  refused — Exports  of  wool  from  Oregon — Price  and 
value  of  Oregon  wool — Grading  wool— Price  of  sheep — Their 
food — Coyotes — The  wolf-hunt — Shearing — Increase  of  flocks — 
"  Corraling"  the  sheep — Sheep  as  brush-clearers 118 

CHAPTER   X. 

The  trail  to  the  Siletz  Reserve— Rock  Creek— Isolation— Getting  a 
road — The  surveying-party — Entrance  at  last — Road-making — 
Hut-building  in  the  wilds — What  will  he  do  with  it  ? — Choice  of 
homestead — Fencing  wild  land — Its  method  and  cost — Splitting 
cedar  boards  and  shingles — House- building — The  China  boy  and 
the  mules — Picnicking  in  earnest — Log-burning — Berrying-par- 
ties — Salting  cattle — An  active  cow — A  year's  work — Mesquit- 
grass  on  the  hills 127 

CHAPTER   XI. 

The  Indians  at  home — The  reservation — The  Upper  Farm — Log- 
cabins — Women  must  work  while  men  will  play — The  agency — 


12  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

The  boarding-house — Sunday  on  the  reservation — Indian  Sun 
day-school — Galeese  Creek  Jem — The  store — Indian  farmers — 
As  to  the  settlement  of  the  Indians — Suggestions — A  crime- 
Its  origin — Its  history — The  criminals — What  became  of  them — 
Indian  teamsters — Numbers  on  the  reservation — The  powers  and 
duties  of  the  agent — Special  application 136 


CHAPTER   XII. 

The  Legislative  Assembly— The  Governor— His  duties— Payment  of 
the  members — Aspect  of  the  city ;  the  Legislature  hi  session — 
The  lobbyist— How  bills  pass— How  bills  do  not  pass— Questions 
of  the  day — Common  carriers — Woman's  suffrage — Some  of  the 
acts  of  1878 — Judicial  system  of  the  State — Taxes — Assessments 
— County  officers — The  justice  of  the  peace — Quick  work 145 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Land  laws — Homesteads  and  preemption — How  to  choose  and  obtain 
Government  land — University  land — School  land— Swamp  land 
— Kailroad  and  wagon-road  grants — Lieu  lands — Acreages  owned 
by  the  various  companies 157 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  "Web-foot  State" —Average  rainfall  in  various  parts  — The 
rainy  days  in  1879  and  1880— Temperature— Seasons— Accounts 
and  figures  from  three  points— Afternoon  sea-breezes— A  "  cold 
snap  "—Winter— Floods— Damage  to  the  river-side  country- 
Rare  thunder — Rarer  wind-storms — The  storm  of  January,  1880.  164 


CHAPTER   XV. 

The  State  Fair  of  1880— Salem— The  ladies'  pavilion— Knock-'em- 
downs  a,  V  Americaine — Self-binders  —  Thrashing-machines  — 
Rates  of  speed — Cost — Workmanship — Prize  sheep — Fleeces — 
Pure  versus  graded  sheep  —  California  short-horns  — Horses  — 
American  breed  or  Percheron — Comparative  measurements — 
The  races  —  Runners  —  Trotters — Cricket  hi  public  —  Unruly 
spectators .  174 


CONTENTS.  13 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

PAGR 

History  of  Oregon — First  discoverers — Changes  of  government — 
Recognition  as  a  Territory  —  Entrance  as  a  State  —  Individual 
histories — "Jottings" — "Sitting  around" — A  pioneer  in  Ben- 
ton  County— How  to  serve  Indian  thieves — The  white  squaw 
and  the  chief— Immigration  in  company — Kafting  on  the  Colum- 
bia— The  first  winter — Early  settlement — Indian  friends — Indian 
houses  and  customs — The  Presbyterian  colony — The  start — 
Across  the  plains — Arrival  in  Oregon — The  "whaler"  settler — 
A  rough  journey — u  Ho  for  the  Umpqua !  " — A  backwoodsman 
— Compliments — School-teacher  provided  for — Uncle  Lazarus — 
Rogue  River  Canon  —  Valley  of  Death  —  Pleasant  homes  — 
Changed  circumstances 183 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

State  and  county  elections — The  Chinese  question — Chinese  house- 
servants  —  Washermen  —  Laborers  —  A  large  camp  —  Supper — 
Chinese  trading — The  scissors — Cost  of  Chinese  labor — Its  re- 
sults—  Chinese  treaties  —  Household  servants  —  Chee  and  his 
mistress  —  "Heap  debble-y  in  there" — The  photo  album — 
Temptation— A  sin  and  its  reward— Good  advice  on  whipping- 
Chung  and  the  crockery — Chinese  New  Year — Gifts — "  Hood- 
lums " — Town  police — Opium 201 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Life  in  the  town — Sociables — Religious  sects — Sabbath-schools — 
Christmas  festivities — Education,  how  far  compulsory — Colleges 
— Student-life  and  education — Common  schools — Teachers'  insti- 
tutes —  Newspapers  —  Patent  outsides  —  "  The  Oregonian  "  — 
Other  journals — Charities — Paupers — Secret  societies 209 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Industries  other  than  farming — Iron-ores — Coal — Coos  Bay  mines — 
Seattle  mines — Other  deposits — Lead  and  copper — Limestone — 
Marbles — Gold,  where  found  and  worked — Silver,  where  found 
and  worked — Gold  in  sea-sand — Timber — Its  area  and  distribu- 
tion— Spars — Lumber — Size  of  trees — Hard  woods — Cost  of  pro- 


14  CONTENTS. 


PAGB 

duction  and  sale  of  lumber— Tanneries— Woolen-mills— Flax- 
works— Invitation  to  Irish— Salmon— Statistics  of  the  trade- 
Methods — Varieties  of  salmon — When  and  where  caught — Salm- 
on-poisoning of  dogs— Indians  fishing— Traps— Salmon-smok- 
^g ..  219 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Eastern  Oregon— Going  "  east  of  the  mountains  "—Its  attractions 
—Encroaching  sheep  — First  experiments  in  agriculture  and 
planting— General  description  of  Eastern  Oregon— Boundaries- 
Alkaline  plains— Their  productions— The  valleys— Powder  Eiver 
Valley— Description— The  Snake  Eiver  and  its  tributaries— The 
Malheur  Valley-Harney  Lake  Valley— Its  size— Productions- 
Wild  grasses— Hay-making— The  winters  in  Eastern  Oregon— 
Wagon-roads  —  Prineville— Silver  Creek  —  Grindstone  Creek 
Valley— Crooked  Kiver—  Settlers'  descriptions  and  experiences 
—Ascent  of  the  Cascades  going  west— Eastern  Oregon  towns- 
Baker  City— Prineville— Warnings  to  settlers— Growing  wheat 
for  the  railroads  to  carry 231 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

Southern  Oregon — Its  boundaries — The  western  counties — Popula- 
tion— Ports — Rogue  River — Coos  Bay — Coal — Lumber — Practi- 
cable railroad  routes — The  harbor — Shifting  and  blowing  sands 
— A  quoted  description — Cost  of  transportation — Harbor  im- 
provements— Their  progress  and  results — The  Umpqua — Doug- 
las County — Jackson  County — The  lake-country — Linkville — 
Water-powers  —  Indian  reservations  —  The  great  mountains  — 
Southeastern  Oregon — General  description — Industries 248 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

The  towns — Approach  to  Oregon — The  steamers — The  Columbia  en- 
trance— Astoria — Its  situation,  industries,  development — Salmon 
— Shipping — Loading  and  discharging  cargo — Up  the  Columbia 
and  Willamette  to  Portland— Portland,  West  and  East— Popula- 
tion—Public  buildings  —  United  States  District  Court  — The 
judge  —  Public  Library  —  The  Bishop  schools  —  Hospital  — 
Churches— Stores  —  Chinese  quarter— Banks  —  Industries— The 


CONTENTS.  15 


PAQB 

city's  prosperity — Its  causes— Its  probable  future — The  Oregon 
Railway  and  Navigation  Company — Shipping  abuses  and  ex- 
actions—Railroad termini — Up  the  Columbia — The  Dalles — Up 
the  Willamette— Oregon  City,  its  history— The  falls— Salem— 
Its  position  and  development  —  Capitol  buildings — Flour-mills 
—Oil-mills — Buena  Vista  potteries— Albany — Its  water-power — 
Flour-mills — Values  of  land — Corvallis — The  line  of  the  Oregon 
Pacific  Railroad— Eugene,  its  university  and  professors — Rose- 
burg — The  West-side  Railroad  to  Portland— Development  of  the 
country — Prosperity — Counties  of  Oregon — Their  population — 
Taxable  property — Average  possessions — In  the  Willamette  Val- 
ley— In  Eastern  Oregon — In  Eastern  Oregon  tributary  to  Co- 
lumbia and  Snake  Rivers ...  , .  252 


CHAPTER  XX1U. 

The  transportation  question — Its  importance — Present  legal  posi- 
tion— Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Committee's  general  re- 
port— That  company — Its  ocean-going  steamers — Their  traffic 
and  earnings — Its  river- boats — Their  traffic  and  earnings — Its 
railroads  in  existence— Their  traffic  and  earnings — Its  new  rail- 
roads in  construction  and  in  prospect — Their  probable  influence 
— The  Northern  Pacific — Terminus  on  Puget  Sound — Its  pros- 
pects—The East  and  West  Side  Railroads— "  Bearing "  traffic 
and  earnings— How  to  get  "  control  "—Lands  owned  by  the 
Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company  —  Monopoly  —  How 
threatened — The  narrow-gauge  railroads — Their  terminus  and 
working — Efforts  to  consolidate  monopoly — The  "  blind  pool  " 
—Resistance— The  Oregon  Pacific— Its  causes,  possessions,  and 
prospects  —Land  grant  and  its  enemies— The  traffic  of  the  val- 
ley—Yaquina  Bay— Its  improvement— The  farmers  take  it  in 
hand — Contrast  and  comparisons — The  two  presidents Proba- 
ble effects  of  competition — Tactics  in  opposition — The  Yaquina 
improvements— Description  of  works— The  prospects  for  com- 
petition and  the  farmers'  gains 271 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

Emigration  to  Oregon — Who  should  not  come — Free  advice  and  no 
fees— English  emigrants— Farmers— Haste  to  be  rich— Quoted 


16  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

experiences— Cost  and  ways  of  coming— Sea-routes— Eailroads 
—Baggage— What  not  to  bring— What  not  to  forget— Heavy 
property — The  Custom-house — San  Francisco  hotels — Conclu- 
sion    293 

Appendix t .  305 


TWO  YEARS  IN  OREGON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Personal  reasons  for  coming  to  Oregon — Plans  of  colonizing — Who  came 
— Who  have  returned — Who  remain — Bowie-knives  and  revolvers — 
A  sheriff  in  danger — No  tragedy — Our  landing  at  Corvallis — Frail 
houses — Pleasant  welcome — The  barber's  shop — Its  customers — Given 
names — New  acquaintances — Bright  dresses — Eeligious  denomina- 
tions. 

AFTER  visiting  Oregon  in  the  year  1877,  and  travel- 
ing with  three  or  four  companions  through  its  length 
and  breadth,  I  ventured  to  publish  in  England  on  my 
return  a  short  account  of  our  seeings  and  doings. 

"While  the  reception  of  this  book  by  the  reviews 
generally  was  only  too  kind  and  nattering,  one  paper, 
the  "  Athenaeum,"  distinguished  me  by  a  long  notice, 
the  whole  point  of  which  lay  in  the  observation  that  it 
would  be  interesting  to  know  if  I,  who  had  been  rec- 
ommending Oregon  to  others,  were  prepared  to  take 
my  own  prescription,  and  emigrate  there  myself. 

Now,  although  it  would  not  perhaps  be  fair  to 
make  all  physicians  swallow  their  own  medicines,  re- 
gardless whether  or  not  they  were  sick,  and  although 
I  certainly  was  not  in  any  position  rendering  emigra- 


18  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

tion  necessary,  or  in  the  opinion  of  any  of  my  friends 
and  acquaintances  even  desirable,  yet  I  did  not  like  it 
to  be  possible  to  be  accused  rightly  of  recommending  a 
course  so  serious  as  a  change  of  dwelling-place  and  even 
of  nationality,  without  being  willing  to  prove  by  my 
own  acts  the  genuineness  of  the  advice  I  had  given. 

And  this,  among  other  motives  and  inducements, 
had  a  strong  influence  in  overcoming  the  crowd  of 
hesitations  and  difficulties  which  spring  up  when  so 
great  a  change  begins  to  be  contemplated  as  possible. 

And  it  is  no  more  than  natural  that  now,  having 
had  two  years'  experience  in  Oregon,  I  should  desire 
to  have  it  known  if  it  be  necessary  to  recall  the  general 
advice  given  in  the  former  book,  advocating,  as  un- 
doubtedly I  then  did  advocate,  Oregon  as  a  desirable 
residence. 

But,  as  this  involves  my  putting  into  some  kind  of 
literary  shape  our  experiences  for  the  past  two  years  in 
this  far  Western  land,  it  is  better  to  begin  by  some 
general  relation  of  our  plans. 

When  I  undertook  to  come  out  with  my  wife  and 
children  and  see  to  the  settlement  and  disposal  of  the 
tract  of  land  we  had  purchased,  as  one  result  of  my 
visit  in  1877,  I  was  applied  to  by  a  good  many  fathers 
to  take  some  superintendence  of  their  sons,  who  desired 
to  emigrate  to  Oregon.  Next,  one  or  two  married 
couples  expressed  a  wish  to  join  us.  Then  several  ac- 
quaintances, who  were  practical  mechanics,  had  heard 
a  good  report  of  Oregon,  and  desired  to  accompany  us. 
And  I  was  busy  in  answering  letters  about  the  place 
and  people  to  the  very  moment  of  sailing. 

I  was  not  at  all  willing  to  have  the  company  indefi- 
nitely numerous,  not  having  graduated  in  Mr.  Cook's 


PLANS  OF  COLONIZING.  19 

school  for  tourists,  and  knowing  something  of  the  em- 
barrassments likely  to  attend  a  crowd  of  travelers.  We 
found  our  party  of  twenty-six  fully  large  enough  for 
comfort.  "We  were  kindly  and  liberally  treated  by  the 
Allan  Steamship  Company,  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway 
of  Canada,  and  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Rail- 
way ;  but  our  lines  did  not  fall  to  us  in  pleasant  places 
when  we  experienced  the  tender  mercies  of  the  Union 
and  Central  Pacific.  Our  party  was  broken  up  into 
different  cars,  and  our  strongest  portmanteaus  were 
shattered  by  the  most  atrocious  handling. 

It  was  a  serious  question  if  we  should  try  to  found 
an  English  colony  here,  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  word. 
That  would  have  involved  a  separate  life  from  the 
American  residents ;  it  would  have  fostered  jealousy 
here,  and  we  should  have  committed  numberless  mis- 
takes and  absurdities.  We  should  have  had  to  buy  all 
our  experience,  amid  the  covert  ridicule  of  our  neigh- 
bors. And  I  was  confident  that  many  members  of  our 
party  would  have  played  at  emigrating,  and  treated  the 
whole  business  as  picnicking  on  a  large  scale.  Moreover, 
I  was  not  sure  that,  even  if  we  succeeded  in  transplant- 
ing English  manners,  customs,  and  institutions,  they 
would  take  hold  in  this  new  soil.  The  fact  was  always 
before  my  eyes  that  the  country  was  only  thirty  years 
old,  in  a  civilized  sense,  and  I  doubted  the  wisdom  of 
trying  to  transport  thither  a  little  piece  of  the  old 
country. 

I  believed  the  wiser  course  to  be  to  plant  ourselves 
quietly  among  the  Oregonians  with  as  little  parade  and 
fuss  as  possible,  and  to  let  our  own  experience  dictate 
to  others  whether  to  join  us  or  not. 

It  has  been  our  practice  throughout  to  answer  freely, 


20  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

and  as  fully  as  possible,  the  many  letters  of  inquiry  as 
to  place  and  people  that  we  have  had,  but  to  offer  no 
advice  ;  leaving  those  who  were  thinking  of  coming  out 
to  take  the  responsibility  on  themselves  of  deciding  to 
come  or  to  stay  away. 

Under  this  system  our  numbers  have  grown  to  up- 
ward of  a  hundred,  and  now  rarely  a  month  passes  with- 
out additions.  Of  course,  a  process  of  natural  selection 
goes  on  all  the  time.  Not  every  one  who  comes  remains  ; 
but  we  have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  mother-country  who  are  making  Ore- 
gon their  permanent  home,  and  the  same  feeling  is 
shared,  as  I  am  confident,  by  the  original  residents. 

Shall  I  try  to  describe  what  sort  of  people  we  live 
among  here,  a  hundred  miles  from  Portland,  the  chief 
city  in  the  State  ? 

What  the  notions  of  some  of  our  party  were  you  will 
understand  when  I  mention  that  all  I  could  say  could 
not  prevent  the  young  men  of  the  party  from  arming 
themselves,  as  for  a  campaign  in  the  hostile  Indian 
country,  so  that  each  man  stepped  ashore  from  the 
boat  that  brought  us  up  the  Willamette  with  a  revolver 
in  each  pocket,  and  the  hugest  and  most  uncompromis- 
ing knives  that  either  London,  New  York,  or  San  Fran- 
cisco could  furnish . 

As  ill  luck  would  have  it,  just  as  we  arrived,  the 
sheriff  had  returned  to  town  with  an  escaped  prisoner, 
and  had  been  set  upon  by  the  brother,  and  a  pistol  had 
been  actually  presented  at  him.  I  should  say  in  a 
whisper  that  the  sheriff,  worthy  man,  had  proposed  to 
return  the  assault  in  kind,  but  had  failed  to  get  his  six- 
shooter  out  in  time  from  the  depths  of  a  capacious 
pocket,  where  the  deadly  weapon  lay  in  harmless  neigh- 


OUR  LANDING  AT  CORVALLIS.  21 

borhood,  with  a  long  piece  of  string,  a  handful  or  so  of 
seed- wheat,  a  large  chunk  of  tobacco,  a  leather  strap 
and  buckle,  and  a  big  red  pocket-handkerchief.  So  I 
fancy  he  had  not  much  idea  of  shooting  when  he 
started  out. 

But  the  incident  was  enough  to  give  a  blood-color 
to  all  our  first  letters  home,  and  I  dare  say  caused  a  good 
many  shiverings  and  shudders  at  the  thought  of  the 
wild  men  of  the  woods  we  had  come  to  neighbor  with. 

The  worst  of  it  was,  that  it  was  the  only  approach  to 
a  tragedy,  and  that  we  have  had  no  adventures  worth 
speaking  of.  "  Story,  God  bless  you  !  I  have  none  to  tell, 
sir."  Still  we  did  know  ourselves  to  be  in  a  new  world 
when  we  stepped  ashore  from  the  large,  white-painted, 
three-storied  structure  on  the  water  that  they  called  a 
stern-wheel  river-boat,  and  in  which  we  had  spent  two 
days  coming  up  the  great  river  from  Portland.  It  was 
the  17th  of  May,  just  a  month  from  leaving  Liverpool, 
that  we  landed.  The  white  houses  of  the  little  city  of 
Corvallis  were  nestled  cozily  in  the  bright  spring  green 
of  the  alders  and  willows  and  oaks  that  fringed  the 
river,  and  the  morning  sun  flashed  on  the  metal  cupola 
of  the  court-house,  and  lighted  up  the  deep-blue  clear- 
cut  mountains  that  rose  on  the  right  of  us  but  a  few 
miles  off. 

When  we  got  into  the  main  street  the  long,  low, 
broken  line  of  booth-like,  wooden,  one-storied  stores 
and  houses,  all  looking  as  if  one  strong  man  could  push 
them  down,  and  one  strong  team  carry  them  off,  grated 
a  little,  I  could  see,  on  the  feelings  of  some  of  the  party. 
The  redeeming  feature  was  the  trees,  lining  the  street 
at  long  intervals,  darkening  the  houses  a  little,  but 
clothing  the  town,  and  giving  it  an  air  of  age  and  re- 


22  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

spectability  that  was  lacking  in  many  of  the  bare  rows 
of  shanties,  dignified  with  the  title  of  town,  that  we 
had  passed  in  coming  here  across  the  continent. 

The  New  England  Hotel  invited  us  in.  A  pretty 
plane-tree  in  front  overshadowed  the  door ;  and  a 
bright,  cheery  hostess  stood  in  the  doorway  to  welcome 
us,  shaking  hands,  and  greeting  our  large  party  of 
twenty-six  in  a  fashion  of  freedom  to  which  we  had  not 
been  used,  but  which  sounded  pleasantly  in  our  travel- 
worn  ears.  The  house  was  tumble-down  and  shabby, 
and  needed  the  new  coat  of  paint  it  received  soon  after 
— but  in  the  corner  of  the  sitting-room  stood  a  good 
parlor-organ.  The  dining-room  adjoining  had  red 
cloths  on  the  tables,  and  gave  a  full  view  into  the  kitch- 
en ;  but  the  "beefsteak,  mutton-chop,  pork-chop,  and 
hash  "  were  good  and  well  cooked,  and  contrasted  with, 
rather  than  reminded  us  of,  the  fare  described  by  Charles 
Dickens  as  offered  him  in  the  Eastern  States  when  he 
visited  America  thirty-nine  years  ago. 

The  bedrooms,  opening  all  on  to  the  long  passage  up- 
stairs, with  meager  furniture  and  patchwork  quilts,  the 
whole  wooden  house  shaking  as  we  trotted  from  room 
to  room,  were  not  so  interesting,  and  tempted  no  long 
delay  in  bed  after  the  early  breakfast-gong  had  been 
sounded  soon  after  six.  Breakfast  at  half-past  six,  din- 
ner at  noon,  and  supper  at  half -past  five,  only  set  the 
clock  of  our  lives  a  couple  of  hours  faster  than  we  had 
been  used  to ;  and  bed  at  nine  was  soon  no  novelty 
to  us. 

The  street  in  front  was  a  wide  sea  of  slushy  mud 
when  we  arrived,  with  an  occasional  planked  crossing, 
needing  a  sober  head  and  a  good  conscience  to  navigate 
safely  after  dark  ;  for,  when  evening  had  closed  in,  the 


THE  BARBERS  SHOP.  23 

only  street-lighting  came  from  the  open  doors,  and 
through  the  filled  and  dressed  windows  of  the  stores. 

Saloons  were  forbidden  by  solemn  agreement  to  all  of 
us,  but  the  barber's  shop  was  the  very  pleasant  substi- 
tute. Two  or  three  big  easy-chairs  in  a  row,  with  a  stool 
in  front  of  each.  Generally  filled  they  were  by  the 
grave  and  reverend  seigniors  of  the  city — each  man  re- 
posing calmly,  draped  in  white,  while  he  enjoyed  the 
luxury,  under  the  skillful  hands  of  the  barber  or  his 
man,  of  a  clean  shave.  At  the  far  end  of  the  shop 
stood  the  round  iron  stove,  with  a  circle  of  wooden 
chairs  and  an  old  sofa.  And  here  we  enjoyed  the  par- 
liament of  free  talk.  The  circle  was  a  frequently  chang- 
ing one,  but  the  types  were  constant. 

The  door  opened  and  in  came  a  man  from  the  coun- 
try :  such  a  hat  on  his  head  !  a  brim  wide  enough  for 
an  umbrella,  the  color  a  dirty  white  ;  a  scarlet,  collar- 
less  flannel  shirt,  the  only  bit  of  positive  color  about 
him ;  a  coat  and  trousers  of  well-worn  brown,  canvas 
overall  (or,  as  sometimes  spelled,  "  overhaul "),  the  trou- 
sers tucked  into  knee-high  boots,  worn  six  months  and 
never  blacked.  His  hands  were  always  in  his  pockets, 
except  when  used  to  feed  his  mouth  with  the  constant 
"chaw." — "Hello,  Tom,"  he  says  slowly,  as  he  makes 
his  way  to  the  back,  by  the  stove.  "  Hello,  Jerry,"  is 
the  instant  response.  "  How's  your  health?  "  "  Well ; 
and  how  do  you  make  it?"  "So-so."  "Any  news 
out  with  you?"  "Wall,  no;  things  pretty  quiet." 
And  he  finds  a  seat  and  sinks  into  it  as  if  he  intended 
growing  there  till  next  harvest. 

We  all  know  each  other  by  our  "given"  names.     I 
asked  one  of  our  politicians  how  he  prepared  himself 
for  a  canvass  in  a  county  where  I  knew  he  was  a  stran- 
2 


24:  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

ger  this  last  summer.  "  Well,  I  just  learned  up  all  the 
boys7  given  names,  so  I  could  call  them  when  I  met 
them,"  was  the  answer.  "  I  guess  knowing  'em  was 
as  good  as  a  hundred  votes  to  me  in  the  end."  It  was 
a  little  startling  at  first  to  see  a  rough  Oregonian  ride 
up  to  our  house,  dismount,  hitch  his  horse  to  the  paling, 
and  stroll  casually  in,  with  "  Where's  Herbert  ?"  as  his 
first  and  only  greeting.  But  we  soon  got  used  to  it. 

But  the  barber's  shop  was,  and  is,  useful  to  us,  as 
well  as  amusing.  The  values  and  productiveness  of 
farms  for  sale,  the  worth  and  characters  of  horses,  the 
prices  of  cattle,  the  best  and  most  likely  and  accessible 
places  for  fishing,  and  deer-shooting,  and  duck-hunting 
— all  such  matters,  and  a  hundred  other  things  useful 
for  us  to  know,  we  picked  up  here,  or  " sitting  around" 
the  stoves  in  one  or  other  of  the  stores  in  the  town. 

Another  good  gained  was,  that  thus  our  new  neigh- 
bors and  we  got  acquainted :  they  found  we  were  not 
all  the  "lords"  they  set  us  down  for  at  first,  with  the 
exclusiveness  and  pride  they  attributed  to  that  maligned 
race  in  advance  ;  while  we  on  our  side  found  a  vast 
amount  of  self-respect,  of  native  and  acquired  shrewd- 
ness, of  legitimate  pride  in  country,  State,  and  county, 
and  a  fund  of  kindly  wishes  to  see  us  prosper,  among 
our  roughly  dressed  but  really  courteous  neighbors. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  feminine  curiosity  dis- 
played on  either  side,  by  the  natives  and  the  new-com- 
ers. When  we  went  to  church  the  first  Sunday  after 
our  arrival,  there  were  a  good  many  curious  worshipers, 
more  intent  on  the  hats  and  bonnets  of  the  strangers 
than  on  the  service  in  which  we  united.  We  hoard 
afterward  how  disappointed  they  were  that  the  stranger 
ladies  were  so  quietly  and  cheaply  dressed.  We  could 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS.  25 

not  say  the  same  when  callers  came,  which  they  speed- 
ily did  after  we  were  settled  in  our  new  home — such 
tight  kid  gloves,  and  bright  bonnets,  and  silk  mantles  ! 
It  was  a  constant  wonder  to  our  women-folk  how  fheir 
friends  managed  to  show  as  such  gay  butterflies,  two 
thousand  miles  on  the  western  side  of  everywhere. 

We  found  here,  in  a  little  town  of  eleven  hundred 
inhabitants,  all  kinds  of  religious  denominations  repre- 
sented— Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Eoman  Catholics, 
Methodists  North,  and  Methodists  South,  Evangelicals, 
and  Baptists — but  very  little  rivalry  and  no  rancor.  I 
shall  have  something  more  to  say  about  the  religious 
life  later  on,  but  I  think  I  will  reserve  the  description 
of  our  home,  and  of  those  of  some  of  our  neighbors,  for 
a  fresh  chapter. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Where  we  live — Snow-peaks  and  distant  prospects — Forest-fires — The 
Coast  Mountains  and  Mary's  Peak — Sunset  in  Oregon — Farmhouses : 
the  log-cabin,  the  box-house,  the  frame-house — Dinner  at  the  farm — 
Slay  and  eat — A  rash  chicken — Bread-making  by  amateurs — Thrift 
and  unthrift — Butter  and  cheese — Products  of  the  "range,"  farm, 
and  garden — Wheat-growing. 

You  might  look  the  world  over  for  a  prettier  spot 
than  that  on  which  this  house  stands.  Just  a  mile 
from  Corvallis,  on  a  gently  rounded  knoll,  we  look  east- 
ward across  the  town,  and  the  river,  and  the  broad  val- 
ley beyond,  to  the  Cascade  Mountains. 

Their  lowest  range  is  about  thirty  miles  off,  and  the 
rich  flat  valley  between  is  hidden  by  the  thick  line  of 
timber,  generally  fir,  that  fringes  the  farther  side  of  the 
Willamette.  Against  the  dark  line  of  timber  the  spires 
of  the  churches  and  the  cupola  of  the  court-house 
stand  out  clear,  and  the  gray  and  red  shingled  roofs  of 
the  houses  in  the  town  catch  early  rays  of  the  rising 
sun. 

The  first  to  be  lighted  up  are  the  great  snow-peaks, 
ninety,  seventy,  and  fifty  miles  off — a  ghostly,  pearly 
gray  in  the  dim  morning,  while  the  lower  ranges  lie  in 
shadow ;  but,  as  the  sun  rises  in  the  heavens,  these 
same  lower  ranges  grow  distinct  in  their  broken  out- 
lines. The  air  is  so  clear  that  you  see  plainly  the  colors 
of  the  bare  red  rocks,  and  the  heavy  dark,  fir-timber 
clothing  their  rugged  sides.  Ere  the  sun  mounts  high 


SUNSET  IN  OREGON.  27 

the  valley  often  lies  covered  with  a  low-lying  thin  white 
mist,  beyond  and  over  which  the  mountains  stand  out 
clear. 

For  some  weeks  in  the  late  summer  heavy  smoke- 
clouds  from  the  many  forest  and  clearing  fires  obscure 
all  distant  view.  This  last  summer  fires  burned  for  at 
least  fifty  miles  in  length  at  close  intervals  of  distance, 
and  the  dark  gray  pall  overlay  the  mountains  through- 
out. Behind  the  house,  and  in  easy  view  from  the 
windows  on  either  side,  are  the  Coast  Mountains,  or 
rather  hills. 

Mary's  Peak  rises  over  four  thousand  feet,  and  is 
snow-crowned  for  nine  months  in  the  year.  The  out- 
lines of  this  range  are  far  more  gently  rounded  than  the 
Cascades,  and  timber- covered  to  the  top.  Save  for  the 
solid  line  of  the  heavy  timber,  the  outlines  of  the  Coast 
Eange  constantly  remind  us  of  our  own  Dartmoor  ;  and 
the  illusion  is  strengthened  by  the  dark-red  soil  where 
the  plow  has  invaded  the  hills,  yearly  stealing  nearer 
to  their  crowns.  Mary's  Peak  itself  is  bare  at  the  top 
for  about  a  thousand  acres,  but  the  firs  clothe  its  sides, 
and  the  air  is  so  clear  that,  in  spite  of  the  seventeen 
miles'  distance,  their  serrated  shapes  are  plainly  and  in- 
dividually visible  as  the  sun  sinks  to  rest  behind  the 
mountain. 

Such  sunsets  as  we  have  !  Last  night  I  was  a  mile 
or  two  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  as  night  fell. 
Mount  Hood  was  the  first  to  blush,  and  then  Mount 
Jefferson  and  the  Three  Sisters  in  turn  grew  rosy  red. 
From  the  valley  I  could  not  see  the  lower  Cascades,  but 
these  snowy  pyramids  towered  high  into  the  sky.  One 
little  fleecy  cloud  here  and  there  overhead  caught  the 
tinge,  but  the  whole  air  on  the  eastern  side  was  lumi- 


28  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

nously  pink.  Turning  westward,  the  pale-blue  sky  faded 
through  the  rainbow-green  into  the  rich  orange  sur- 
rounding the  departing  sun  ;  and  the  westward  moun- 
tains stood  solidly  and  clearly  blue  in  massive  lines. 

One  great  peculiarity  of  the  Oregon  landscape,  as 
distinguished  from  an  English  rather  than  a  New  Eng- 
land scene,  is  in  the  number  of  white  farmhouses  that 
catch  the  eye.  We  see  many  from  our  windows.  I 
suppose  it  is  that  the  roads  are  so  bad  in  winter  that 
the  farmers  must  live  on  the  farms,  instead  of  in  the 
English-village  fashion.  So  it  is  that  you  may  travel 
by  railroad  up  and  down  this  valley  for  two  hundred 
miles  between  farmhouses  every  quarter  or  half  mile  all 
the  way.  Nearly  every  farmhouse  has  its  orchard  close 
by ;  but  one  big  barn  is  all  the  out-buildings  they  boast, 
and  farm-yard,  in  the  English  sense,  one  never  sees. 

Our  own  house  is  not  a  fair  specimen,  because  of  our 
large  family  and  its  corresponding  habitation  ;  but  the 
regular  farmhouse  is  by  no  means  an  uncomfortable 
abode . 

There  are  three  kinds  :  log-cabin,  box-house,  frame- 
house. 

The  first,  by  far  the  most  picturesque  type,  is  fast 
becoming  obsolete,  and  on  most  of  the  good  farms,  if 
not  pulled  down,  is  degraded  into  woodhouse  or  pig- 
gery. But  to  my  eye  there  is  something  rarely  comfort- 
able in  the  low,  solid,  rugged  walls  of  gray  logs,  with 
overhanging  shingled  roof ;  the  open  hearth,  too,  with 
its  great  smoldering  back-log  and  wide  chimney,  in- 
vites you  to  sit  down  before  it  and  rest.  By  the  side  of 
the  fireplace,  from  two  deers'  horns  fastened  to  the  wall, 
hangs  the  owner's  rifle— generally  an  old  brown  veter;m 
— with -bullet-pouch  and  powder-horn.  Over  the  hi 


FARMHOUSES.  29 

mantel-shelf  stands  the  ticking  clock,,  suggesting  "  Sam 
Slick,  the  clock-maker."  Curtained  off  from  the  main 
room,  with  its  earthen  or  roughly-boarded  floor,  are  the 
low  bedsteads  of  the  family,  each  covered  with  its  patch- 
work quilt.  A  corner  cupboard  or  two  hold  the  family 
stock  of  cups  and  plates,  and  the  smell  of  apples,  from 
the  adjoining  apple-chamber,  pervades  the  house. 

Eound  the  house  is  the  home-field,  generally  the 
orchard,  sown  with  timothy-grass,  where  range  four  or 
five  young  calves,  and  a  sow  or  two,  with  their  hungry, 
rooting  youngsters.  The  barn,  log-built  also,  stands 
near  by,  with  two  or  three  colts,  or  yearling  cattle, 
grouped  around.  The  spring  of  cold,  clear  water  runs 
freely  through  the  orchard,  but  ten  yards  from  the 
house-door,  hastening  to  the  "creek,"  whose  murmur 
is  never  absent,  save  in  the  few  driest  weeks  of  summer- 
time. 

Snake-fences,  seven  logs  high,  with  top-rail  and 
crossed  binders  to  keep  all  steady,  divide  the  farm  from 
the  road,  and  a  litter  of  chips  from  the  axe-hewed  pile 
of  firewood  strew  the  ground  between  wood-pile  and 
house.  Here  and  there,  even  in  the  home-field,  and 
nearly  always  in  the  more  distant  land,  a  big  black 
stump  disfigures  the  surface,  and  betrays  the  poverty  or 
possibly  the  carelessness  of  the  owner,  who  has  carved 
his  homestead  from  the  brush. 

But  as  the  farmer  prospers,  be  it  ever  so  little,  he 
hastens  to  pull  down  his  log-cabin  and  to  build  his 
"box "or  more  expensive  "frame"  house.  In  each 
case  the  material  is  "lumber."  By  this  is  signified,  be 
it  known  to  the  uninitiated,  fir  boards,  one  foot  wide, 
sixteen  feet  long,  and  one  inch  thick. 

The  "box"  house  is  built  of  boards  set  upright,  and 


30  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  cracks  covered  with  strips  of  similar  board,  three 
inches  wide. 

The  "frame  "  house  is  double  throughout,  the  boards 
run  lengthwise,  and  there  is  a  covering  outside  of  an 
outer  skin  of  planking. 

With  the  box  or  frame  house  comes  the  inevitable 
stove.  The  cooking  and  eating  of  the  family  go  on  in 
a  lean-to  room,  and  the  living-room  is  furnished  with 
some  pretensions,  always  with  a  sewing-machine,  and 
often  with  a  parlor-organ  or  piano.  Muslin  curtains 
drape  the  windows  ;  a  bureau  is  generally  present,  and 
chromos,  or  very  rough  engravings,  hang  on  the  walls. 
The  political  tendencies  of  the  owner  betray  themselves. 
General  Grant,  with  tight-buttoned  coat  and  close-cut 
beard,  or  President  Lincoln  and  his  family,  show  the 
Eepublican.  Strangely  enough,  General  Lee,  with  a 
genial  smile  on  his  attractive  face,  is  affected  by  the 
Democrats.  The  followers  of  the  greenback  heresy  de- 
light in  Brick  Pomeroy,  with  clean-shaven,  smug,  and 
satisfied  look. 

It  is  not  the  fashion  to  carry  provisions  with  you  on 
journeys  in  Oregon.  "When  meal-time  draws  near,  and 
hotels  are  many  miles  away,  you  ride  boldly  up  to  the 
nearest  farm,  dismount,  throw  your  horse's  rein  over 
the  paling,  and  walk  in.  The  lady  of  the  house  ap- 
pears, from  the  cooking  department  at  the  rear,  and 
you  say :  "  Good-morning,  madam ;  can  I  get  dinner 
with  you  ?  "  Unless  there  is  grave  reason  to  the  con- 
trary, she  considers  a  moment,  and  then  answers,  "  I 
guess  so,"  with  a  hospitable  smile.  The  next  question 
is  as  to  your  horse,  which  one  of  the  children  leads  into 
the  barn,  and  then  fills  out  a  goodly  measure  of  oats, 
and  crams  the  rack  with  hay  from  the  pile  filling  the 


DINNER  AT  THE  FARM.  31 

middle  of  the  barn.  While  your  hostess  adds  a  little  to 
the  family  meal,  you  turn  over  the  newspapers  in  the 
sitting-room,  generally  finding  a  "  Detroit  Free  Press," 
or  a  "Toledo  Blade,"  or  a  New  York  "World"  or 
"  Tribune,"  or  a  San  Francisco  "Bulletin  "  or  "  Chron- 
icle," besides  the  local  weekly.  If  you  want  books,  you 
must  take  to  the  "Pacific  Coast  Eeader,"  the  last 
school-book,  which  you  are  sure  to  find  on  the  shelf ; 
unless  you  chance  on  a  "  Universal  History,"  or  the 
"History  of  the  Civil  War,"  or  the  "Life  of  General 
Jackson,"  or  the  "Life  of  General  Custer,"  or  a  collec- 
tion of  poetry  in  an  expensive  binding,  all  of  which 
signify  that  the  book-peddler  has  been  paying  a  recent 
visit. 

Then  your  hostess  returns,  saying,  "Will  you  come 
and  eat  ?  "  If  you  go  into  the  back  room — where,  gen- 
erally, the  master  of  the  house  and  you,  the  visitor,  and 
perhaps  a  grown-up  son,  or  a  farming  hand,  sit  down 
and  dine,  while  the  mistress  and  her  daughter  serve 
— you  will  not  starve. 

In  front  of  you  is  a  smoking  dish  of  meat,  either 
pork  or  mutton,  salted,  cut  into  square  bits  and  fried  ; 
rarely  beef,  more  often  venison,  or  deer-meat,  as  it  is 
called  here.  By  it  is  piled  up  a  dish  of  mashed  pota- 
toes, and  a  tureen  of  white,  thick  sauce.  A  glass  dish 
of  stewed  apples,  or  apple-sauce,  and  one  of  preserved 
pears  or  peaches,  and  a  smaller  dish  of  blackberry  or 
plum  jam,  complete  the  meal,  with  the  constant  coffee, 
and  generally  a  big  jug  of  milk.  The  bread  is  brought 
you  in.  sets  of  hot,  square  rolls,  fresh  from  the  stove. 
It  is  not  always  that  you  can  get  cold  bread,  and  a  look 
of  surprise  always  follows  the  request  for  it. 

Generally,  a  good  supply  of  white  beans,  boiled  soft, 


32  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

and  with  a  slice  or  two  of  bacon,  is  an  important  item. 
Apples,  and  the  best  of  them,  too,  you  can  have  for  the 
asking — too  common  to  be  offered  to  you. 

This  regime  applies  to  breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper, 
with  but  slight  variations.  I  forgot,  though,  the  saucer 
of  green,  sharp,  vinegary  gherkins,  which  the  Oregoni- 
ans  seem  not  to  know  how  to  do  without,  and  also  the 
honey,  and  trout,  which  are  the  frequent  and  welcome 
additions  to  the  meal  among  the  hills. 

My  wife  and  I  dropped  in  once  to  a  dinner  of  this 
kind.  We  were  sitting,  cooling  ourselves  on  the  ve- 
randa, watching  some  pretty,  black  Spanish  chickens 
scratching  among  the  scanty  rose-bushes  in  front.  The 
farmer's  wife  came  quickly  out  and  addressed  me  : 
"  Have  you  got  your  revolver  ?  "  I  stared  for  a  moment, 
thinking  of  tramps,  and  bears,  and  I  know  not  what. 
"  I  never  carry  one  on  horseback,"  I  answered.  "  Oh," 
said  she,  "  I  would  have  had  you  shoot  the  head  off  one 
of  them  chickens,  for  I've  got  no  fresh  meat."  In- 
wardly I  congratulated  ourselves  that  our  dinner  did 
not  altogether  depend  on  my  skill  with  that  common, 
but,  to  my  mind,  very  unsatisfactory  weapon. 

One  of  my  friends  bought  out  an  Oregonian  farmer, 
and  paid  him  for  stock  and  lot,  including  some  fine 
fowls.  Dropping  in  to  dinner  two  days  afterward,  he 
found  a  smoking  chicken  on  the  board.  I  suppose  he 
eyed  it  askance,  for  the  farmer  observed  :  "That's  one 
of  your  chickens  I  killed  by  accident.  I  saw  some  wild- 
geese  feeding  on  the  wheat,  and  fetched  the  rifle,  and 
that  there  foolish  rooster  got  right  in  the  way  of  the 
bullet." 

If  any  friends  of  yours  think  of  coming  out,  send 
them  to  the  school  of  cookery,  I  implore  you.  It  is 


BREAD-MAKING  BY  AMATEURS.  33 

the  greatest  possible  quandary  to  be  in,  to  be  set  down 
with  flour,  water,  and  a  tin  of  saleratus  or  baking- 
powder,  and  to  haye  to  make  the  bread  or  go  with- 
out. Then,  to  convert  chickens  running  about  your 
house  into  food  for  man  is  not  so  easy  as  it  looks ; 
nor  is  cooking  beans  or  potatoes  a  matter  of  pure  in- 
stinct, I  assure  you.  Shall  I  ever  forget  riding  up  at 
nearly  three  in  the  afternoon,  to  one  of  our  English- 
men's farms,  to  find  the  proprietor  standing,  coat  off 
and  sleeves  turned  up,  before  a  huge,  round  tin  of 
white  slush  ?  When  he  saw  me  come  in,  he  lifted  out 
his  hands  and  rubbed  off  the  white  dripping  mess,  say- 
ing :  "  I'll  be  hanged  if  I'll  try  any  longer ;  since  eleven 
o'clock  have  I  been  after  this  beastly  bread  !  Can  you 
make  it  ?  Is  this  stuff  too  thin  or  too  thick,  or  what  ?  " 
It  is  true  that  he  makes  fine  bread  now ;  but  if  you 
could  but  know  the  stages  of  slackness,  heaviness,  sod- 
denness,  flintiness,  that  he  and  his  friends  passed 
through,  you  would  see  that  I  was  giving  a  useful  hint, 
and  one  that  applies  to  the  feminine  emigrant  quite  as 
much  as  to  the  masculine.  Another  thing  strikes  us 
out  here,  namely,  the  waste  that  pervades  an  average 
Oregon  farmer's  household.  Does  he  kill  a  deer  ?  He 
leaves  the  fore  half  of  the  creature,  and  all  the  inter- 
nals, in  the  wood  where  he  killed  it,  taking  home  only 
the  hind-quarters  and  the  hide.  If  he  kills  a  hog,  the 
head  is  thrown  out,  to  be  rolled  round  and  gnawed  at 
by  the  dogs  ;  the  same  with  a  sheep  or  a  calf. 

Half  of  them  will  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  have 
butter,  letting  the  calves  get  all  the  milk,  but  just  a  lit- 
tle for  the'  meals.  You  rarely  see  eggs  on  the  table, 
though  there  may  be  scores  of  hens  about. 

You  will  hardly  believe  that  large  quantities  of  but- 


34:  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

ter  and  cheese  are  imported  into  this  valley,  both  from 
California  and  from  Washington  Territory,  and  cheese 
even  from  the  East,  though  there  can  not  be  a  finer 
dairy  country  than  this,  if  they  would  but  look  a  little 
ahead  and  provide  some  green  food  for  the  cows  for  the 
interval  between  the  hay-crop  off  the  timothy-grass  and 
the  fresh  growth  of  the  same  from  the  autumn  rains. 

It  is  still  more  inexcusable  among  the  hills,  where 
the  grass  keeps  green  all  the  year  round.  The  exclusive 
devotion  to  wheat  is  what  will  very  shortly  and  most 
surely  impoverish  the  country  ;  and  therefore  it  is  that, 
in  the  interests  of  Oregon,  I  am  so  anxious  that  many 
farmers  should  come  here  who  are  familiar  with  mixed 
farming,  and  will  apply  it  to  our  deep,  rich,  stoneless 
soil,  and  will  thus  avert  the  inevitable  consequences  of 
wheat,  wheat,  wheat,  continuously  for  fifteen,  twenty, 
ay,  and  thirty  years. 

It  is  not  that  other  crops  and  other  pursuits  do  not 
answer  here.  Sheep,  cattle,  and  horses  thrive  and  mul- 
tiply. Oregon  valley  wool  ranks  among  the  very  best. 
The  Angora  goat  takes  to  Western  Oregon  as  if  it  were 
his  native  home,  and  produces  yearly  from  three  to 
four  pounds  of  hair,  worth  from  sixty  to  eighty  cents  a 
pound.  Beans,  peas,  carrots,  parsnips  grow  as  I  have 
never  seen  them  elsewhere.  Swedish  turnips  have  suc- 
ceeded well  in  this  valley,  and  nearer  the  coast  the 
white  turnips  I  have  seen  nearly  as  big  as  your  head, 
and  good  all  through.  I  saw  a  large  heap  of  potatoes 
the  other  day  that  averaged  six  inches  long,  and  per- 
fectly clean  and  free  from  all  taint.  Carrots  we  grew 
ourselves  that  weighed  from  one  and  a  half  to  two 
pounds  all  round.  Barley  thrives  splendidly,  with  a 
full,  round,  clear-skinned  berry.  Oats  I  need  hardly 


WHEAT-GROWING.  35 

mention,  as  the  export  of  this  cereal  is  very  large,  and 
the  quality  is  undeniable. 

The  common  red  clover  grows  in  a  half-acre  patch 
in  my  neighbor's  field  waist-high,  and  he  cut  it  three 
times  last  year.  We  have  the  humble-bee  (or,  at  any 
rate,  a  big  fellow  just  like  the  English  humble-bee — for 
I  never  handled  one  to  examine  it  closely)  to  fertilize 
the  clover.  The  white  Dutch  clover  spreads  wherever 
it  gets  a  chance. 

But  the  temptation  to  grow  wheat  is  very  strong. 
It  is  the  staple  product  of  the  State,  and  hardly  ever 
fails  in  quality.  The  farmers  understand  it ;  their  sys- 
tem of  life  is  organized  with  a  view  to  it.  A  thousand 
bushels  of  wheat  in  the  warehouse  is  as  good  as  money 
in  the  bank,  and  is  in  reality  a  substitute  for  it.  There 
is  a  clear  understanding  of  what  it  costs  to  plant,  har- 
vest, and  warehouse,  and  it  involves  the  lowest  amount 
of  t'rouble  and  anxiety. 

Therefore,  Oregon  grows  wheat,  and  will  grow  it ; 
and  men  will  grow  nothing  else  until  the  consequences 
are  brought  home  to  them. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  land-office ;  its  object  and  functionaries — How  to  find  your  land — 
Section  33 — The  great  conflagration — The  survivors  of  the  fire — The 
burnt  timber  and  the  brush — The  clearing-party — Chopping  by  begin- 
ners— Cooking,  amateur  and  professional — The  wild-cat — Deer  and 
hunting — Piling  brush — Dear  and  cheap  clearing — The  skillful  axe- 
man— Clearing  by  Chinamen — Dragging  out  stumps — What  profits 
the  farmer  may  expect  on  a  valley  farm — On  a  foot-hills  farm. 

BY  the  time  we  had  been  here  about  a  month  and 
had  settled  down  a  little,  we  set  about  clearing  a  tract 
of  wild  land  called  section  33,  situated  nearly  twenty 
miles  away.  You  will  ask,  What  does  section  33  mean  ? 
Oregon  is  divided  into  several  districts.  For  the  Wil- 
lamette Valley  the  land-office  is  at  Oregon  City,  one  of 
the  most  ancient  towns  in  the  State,  having  a  history  of 
forty  years,  dating  from  the  rule  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  The  chief  officer  is  called  the  "register.'' 
He  is  supplied  with  maps  of  the  surveys  from  the  cen- 
tral office  at  Washington.  Each  map  is  of  one  town- 
ship, consisting  of  a  square  block  of  thirty-six  sections 
of  a  square  mile  or  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  each. 
Each  township  is  numbered  with  reference  to  a  base- 
line and  a  meridian,  fixed  by  the  original  survey  of  the 
State,  thus  giving  a  position  of  latitude  and  longitude. 
From  the  land-office  duplicates  of  the  maps  for  each 
county  are  furnished  to  the  county-seat  and  are  depos- 
ited in  the  county  clerk's  office  for  general  inspection. 
Each  year  a  certain  sum  is  set  aside  for  new  survi  . 


THE  GREAT  CONFLAGRATION.  37 

and  contracts  are  given  by  the  Surveyor-General  of  the 
State  to  local  surveyors  for  the  work. 

The  corners  of  each  square-mile  section  are  denoted 
by  posts  or  large  stones,  and  the  neighboring  trees  are 
blazed  or  marked  so  as  to  direct  attention  to  the  corner 
post  or  stone. 

Thus  for  years  after  the  surveying-party  have  passed 
through  wild  land,  there  is  but  little  difficulty  in  finding 
the  corner-posts,  and  thence  by  compass  ascertaining 
the  boundary-lines  of  any  section  or  fraction  of  a  sec- 
tion in  question.  Surveys  being  officially  made,  bound- 
ary disputes  are  avoided,  or  easily  solved  and  set  at  rest 
by  reference  to  the  county  surveyor,  who  for  a  few  dol- 
lars' fee  comes  out  and  "  runs  the  lines  "  afresh  of  any 
particular  plot. 

Section  33,  then,  is  the  section  thus  numbered  in 
township  10,  south  of  range  7,  west  of  the  Willamette 
meridian.  It  lay  just  on  the  edge  of  the  burned  woods 
country. 

Although  forest-fires  in  Oregon  are  still  of  yearly 
occurrence,  since  settlement  by  the  white  men  the  range 
of  the  devastation  has  been  by  degrees  narrowed  and 
confined.  Formerly  the  Indians  started  fires  every  year 
to  burn  the  withered  grass  in  the  valleys  and  on  the 
hillsides,  and  thence  fire  spread  into  the  woods  and  rav- 
aged many  miles  of  timber.  The  " great  fire"  is 
to  have  occurred  about  forty  years  ago,  when  many 
Indians  perished  in  the  flames,  and  others  had  to  take 
refuge  in  the  streams  and  rivers,  till  the  destroying 
element  had  passed  them  in  its  resistless  fury. 

Standing  on  the  top  of  one  of  these  Coast  Mountain?, 
the  eye  ranges  for  many  miles  over  hill  and  dale,  dotted 
everywhere  with  the  huge  black  trunks,  the  relics  of 


38  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  great  conflagration.  Many  standing  yet,  some 
towering  high  into  the  sky,  testify  of  their  former 
gracefulness  by  the  symmetrical  tapering  of  the  tall 
trunk,  and  the  regular  positions  of  the  broken  limbs 
and  branches.  But  Nature  is  busily  at  work  repairing 
damages  ;  each  winter's  rains  penetrate  more  deeply 
into  the  fabric  of  the  trunk  ;  each  winter's  gales  loosen 
yet  more  the  roots  in  which  the  living  sap  was  long  ago 
destroyed  ;  each  spring  the  wind  brings  down  additions 
to  the  graveyard  of  trees,  rotting  away  into  mold  ; 
while  a  few  young  successors  to  the  former  race  of  firs 
are  showing  themselves  clothed  in  living  green,  and  a 
dense  growth  of  copse-wood,  hazel,  cherry,  vine-maple, 
arrow-wood,  and  crab-apple  is  crowding  the  hollows  of 
the  canons  on  the  hill-sides. 

The  brake-fern  covers  the  hills,  attaining  a  growth 
of  five,  six,  or  eight  feet,  and  sheltering  an  undergrowth 
of  wild-pea  and  native  grass.  Section  33  lies  between 
the  burned  timber  and  the  living  forest,  but  its  chief 
value  is  in  the  valley  of  some  three  hundred  acres  of 
alluvial  land  forming  its  center,  through  which  winds 
here  and  there  the  Mary  Eiver,  at  this  distance  from 
its  mouth  scarcely  more  than  a  clear  and  rapid  brook. 

Eight  of  us  started  on  the  clearing-party  with  two 
light  wagons,  and  a  good  supply  of  food,  blankets,  and 
axes  and  saws.  A  squatter  had  settled  on  one  corner 
and  built  himself  a  hut  and  a  little  barn,  and  had  got 
four  or  five  acres  of  land  cleared  and  plowed.  But  he 
had  abandoned  his  improvements  and  gone  some  ten 
miles  off,  to  clear  another  homestead  among  the  thick 
woods. 

The  first  night  we  camped  out  in  a  grassy  corner 
by  the  wood-side,  while  the  horses  were  tethered  near. 


CHOPPING  BY  BEGINNERS.  39 

The  next  day  we  began.  Two  or  three  of  us  had 
some  little  knowledge  of  the  virtue  of  an  axe,  but  the 
rest  were  new  to  the  art.  It  was  amusing  to  watch 
their  eager  efforts  to  hit  straight  and  firm.  One  or  two 
of  our  Oregonian  neighbors  came  and  looked  on  with 
rather  scoffing  faces,  but  advised  us  how  to  lay  the 
brush  we  cut  in  windrows,  with  a  view  to  the  future 
burning, 

We  cut  young  firs,  up  to  a  foot  thick,  cherry  poles 
from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  high,  vine-maple  as  thick  as 
the  cherry  but  only  half  as  tall,  and  here  and  there  a 
tough  piece  of  crab-apple.  The  brush  was  so  thick 
that  what  was  cut  could  only  fall  one  way,  so  that  the 
patch  each  man  had  cut  by  dinner-time  was  ridicu- 
lously small.  Of  course,  the  whole  valley  was  not  brush- 
covered — very  far  from  it ;  there  were  great  open  spaces 
of  clear  grass,  with  here  and  there  a  tuft  of  blue  lupin 
and  rose-bushes.  The  firs  once  cut  off  were  done  with, 
and  the  stump  would  rot  out  of  the  ground  in  a  year 
or  two.  The  cherry-brush  was  no  bad  enemy,  either  ; 
the  young  shoots  would  sprout  from  the  root  next 
year,  but  sheep  would  bite  them  off  and  kill  the  cherry 
out  in  a  couple  of  seasons.  But  by  all  accounts  the 
vine-maple  was  as  tough  in  life  as  in  texture,  and  that 
it  was  tough  in  texture  our  poor  arms  testified  when 
night  came. 

For  a  few  days  we  tried  to  be  our  own  cooks,  one  of 
the  party  in  turn  being  detailed  for  the  purpose ;  but 
much  good  victuals  was  spoiled.  So  I  sent  into  town 
for  a  Chinaman  cook.  That  too  much  Chinaman  is 
bad,  I  am  prepared  to  support  my  neighbors  in  believ- 
ing ;  but  enough  Chinaman  to  have  one  at  call  when- 
ever you  think  fit  to  send  for  him  is  a  comfort  indeed. 


40  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

So  Jem,  as  he  called  himself,  came  out  to  us.  He 
wore  a  smile  all  day  long  on  his  broad  face ;  and  he 
was  caught  reading  earnestly  in  a  poetry-book  he  must 
have  found  left  out  of  one  of  our  bags ;  so  I  conclude 
he  was  a  learned  Chinaman.  But  he  had  strange 
fancies  for  his  own  eating.  He  cooked  a  wild-cat  that 
was  shot,  and  we  laughed ;  but  he  proceeded  next  to 
skin  and  eat  a  skunk  that  had  fallen  a  victim  to  its 
curiosity  to  see  how  white  men  lived,  and  had  tres- 
passed inside  the  hut ;  and  that  was  too  much.  We 
tasted,  or  thought  we  tasted,  skunk  in  the  bread  for  a 
day  or  two,  so  we  sent  Jem  back. 

Turn  out  at  five,  breakfast  over  by  soon  after  six, 
work  till  noon ;  then  from  one  till  six ;  then  supper, 
and  camp-fire,  and  pipes  and  talk  till  nine,  and  then  to 
bed.  Such  was  our  regular  life,  certainly  a  healthy  and 
not  an  unpleasant  one. 

We  had  an  excitement  one  night.  The  hut  stood 
at  the  corner  of  the  clearing,  with  a  couple  of  good- 
sized  firs  in  front  of  the  door.  A  wood-covered  hill 
came  close  to  it  on  the  right  and  rear.  We  were  going 
to  bed,  when  there  was  a  howl  outside,  followed  by  a 
chorus  from  our  three  hounds.  Out  rushed  a  couple 
of  us  into  the  starlight  with  rifles  in  hand.  The  dogs 
had  sent  whatever  creature  it  was  up  into  one  of  the 
fir-trees  and  bayed  fiercely  round.  Nothing  could  be 
seen  among  the  thick  branches.  One  of  the  party,  an 
enthusiast,  though  a  novice  in  woodland  sport,  got 
right  close  to  the  tree-trunk  and  managed  to  make  out 
a  form  against  the  sky  some  twenty  feet  above  his  head. 
At  once  he  fired,  and  down  came  the  creature  almost 
on  his  head  ;  fortunately  for  him,  the  hounds  attacked 
it  at  once,  and  a  royal  fight  and  scrimmage  went  on 


DEER  AND  HUNTING.  41 

in  the  dark.  Presently  the  intruder  fought  its  way 
through  the  dogs  to  the  rail-fence,  but  mounting  it 
showed  for  an  instant  against  the  sky,  and  a  second 
rifle-shot  brought  it  down.  Dragged  to  the  light,  some 
called  it  a  catamount,  but  others  more  correctly  a  wild- 
cat (Lynxfasciatus).  A  right  handsome  beast  it  was, 
with  short  tail,  and  tufted  ears,  and  spotted  skin.  It 
was  and  remains  the  only  one  that  has  been  seen.  It 
was  attracted,  no  doubt,  by  some  mutton  we  had  hung 
up  in  the  fir  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  dogs.  For- 
tunate, indeed,  was  our  friend  to  escape  its  claws  and 
teeth,  as  it  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  fiercest  and 
hardest  to  kill  of  all  the  cats  found  in  Oregon. 

The. woods  in  front  of  the  hut  across  the  valley  were 
a  sure  find  for  deer,  and  we  could  kill  one  almost  any 
day  by  planting  a  gun  or  two  at  points  in  the  valley 
which  the  deer  would  make  for,  and  then  turning  the 
hounds  into  the  woods  above.  It  is  a  poor  kind  of 
hunting  at  the  best,  this  hiding  behind  a  bush  and 
watching,  it  may  be  for  hours,  for  the  deer.  You 
hear  the  cry  of  the  hound  far  away,  gradually  growing 
nearer,  and  presently  the  deer  breaks  cover,  and  either 
swims  or  runs  and  wades  down  the  river  toward  your 
stand ;  occupied  solely  with  the  trailing  hound,  and 
ignorant  of  the  ambushed  danger  in  front,  the  shot  is 
generally  a  sure  and  easy  one  at  a  few  paces'  distance, 
often  within  buck-shot  range  from  an  ordinary  gun. 

Before  the  summer  had  passed,  enough  brush  had 
been  cut  to  clear  some  fifty  acres  of  the  valley,  and  we 
left  the  cut  stuff  piled  in  long  rows  to  dry  till  next  sum- 
mer, that  the  burning  might  be  a  complete  one  when  we 
did  put  fire  to  it.  The  fires  would  need  tending  for  a 
day  or  two,  and  feeding  with  the  butt-ends  of  the  long 


42  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

poles,  to  finish  the  work  ;  grass-seed  sown  on  the  ashes 
with  the  first  autumn  rains  would  speedily  make  excel- 
lent pasture  in  that  deep  and  fertile  soil.  The  fencing 
of  the  cleared  acreage,  and  the  plowing  up  and  sow- 
ing with  oats  and  wheat  of  some  eight  or  ten  acres  of 
land  from  which  the  roots  and  stumps  had  been  care- 
fully grubbed  out,  would  complete  a  "ranch,"  accord- 
ing to  the  Oregon  fashion,  and  section  33  would  lose 
that  name  and  assume  that  of  its  first  owner.  The 
transformation  from  wild  land  to  tame  would  be  com- 
plete, and  my  work  in  connection  with  it  would  be 
done.  So  much  for  one  way,  and  that  the  simplest,  of 
making  a  home  in  Oregon.  Longer  experience  taught 
us  cheaper  methods.  For  the  large  clearing-party  with 
its  attendant  expense  and  need  of  oversight  may  be 
substituted  clearing  by  contract;  when  some  one  or 
two  of  the  poorer  and  more  industrious  homesteaders 
will  contract  to  cut  and  clear  at  so  much  the  acre  or 
the  piece,  boarding  themselves,  and  taking  their  own 
time  and  methods  of  doing  the  work.  Some  of  the 
Indians  are  masters  of  the  axe,  and  will  both  make  a 
clearing  bargain  and  stick  to  it,  provided  you  are  care- 
ful to  keep  always  a  good  percentage  of  their  pay  in 
hand  till  the  work  is  finished  :  fail  to  do  this,  and  some 
rainy  day  you  will  find  no  ringing  of  the  axe  amid  the 
trees,  and  their  rough  camp  will  be  deserted,  its  inhab- 
itants gone  for  good.  I  like  to  watch  a  skillful  axe- 
man. Set  him  to  one  of  the  big  black  trunks,  six  feet 
through.  Watch  how  he  strolls  round  it,  axe  on  shoul- 
der, determining  which  way  it  shall  fall.  He  fetches 
or  cuts  out  a  plank,  six  or  eight  inches  wide,  and  four 
feet  long,  and  you  wonder  what  he  will  do  with  it.  A 
few  quick  blows  of  his  keen  weapon,  and  a  deep  notch 


TEE  SKILLFUL  AXEMAN.  43 

is  cut  into  the  tree  four  feet  from  the  ground;  the 
plank  is  driven  into  it,  and  he  climbs  lightly  on  it. 
Standing  there,  another  notch  is  cut  four  feet  still  high- 
er from  the  ground,  and  a  second  plank  inserted.  Then 
watch  him.  Standing  there  on  the  elastic  plank,  which 
seems  to  give  more  life  and  vigor  to  his  blows,  it  springs 
to  the  swing  of  the  axe  and  the  chips  fly  fast.  As  you 
look,  he  seems  to  be  inspired  with  eager  hurry,  and  the 
chips  fly  in  a  constant  shower.  Soon  a  deep,  wedge- 
like  cut  is  seen  eating  its  way  into  the  heart  of  the 
trunk.  In  an  hour  or  so  he  has  finished  on  that  side, 
and  leaves  it.  Taking  the  opposite  side  of  the  tree,  he 
is  at  it  again,  and  a  big  wound  speedily  appears.  Long 
before  the  heart  is  reached,  a  loud  cracking  and  rend- 
ing is  heard.  The  axeman  redoubles  his  efforts.  The 
tree  shakes  and  quivers  through  all  its  mass,  and  then 
the  top  moves,  slowly  at  first,  then  faster,  and  down  it 
comes,  with  a  crash  that  wakes  the  echoes  in  the  hills 
for  miles  and  shakes  the  ground.  Then  send  him  into 
the  thick  brush,  where  the  stems  are  so  crowded  that 
they  have  shot  high  up  into  the  sky.  Two  cuts  on 
one  side,  and  one  on  the  other,  an  inch  or  two  from 
the  earth,  and  he  drops  his  axe,  and  leans  all  his 
weight  against  the  stem.  It  cracks  and  snaps  ;  he 
shakes  it,  and  gently  it  sways,  bending  its  elastic  top 
till  it  touches  the  ground  before  the  stem  has  left  its 
hold  on  Mother  Earth.  Before  it  has  had  time  to  fall 
its  neighbor  is  attacked,  and  a  broad  strip  of  sunlight 
is  soon  let  into  the  wood.  Hard  work  ?  Of  course  it 
is  :  a  day's  chopping  will  earn  you  sore  wrists  and  ach- 
ing arms,  but  a  fine  appetite  and  the  soundest  of  sleep. 
Unless  a  new-comer  has  had  experience  in  the  art  and 
practice  of  wood-cutting,  he  will  find  it  too  slow  work 


44  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

to  undertake  with  his  own  hands  the  clearing  of  wild 
land  to  make  his  homestead.  Let  him  buy  a  place 
where  some  of  the  rough  early  work  has  been  already 
done,  and  there  are  plenty  to  be  had,  and  by  all  means 
let  him  by  degrees,  and  as  time  serves,  enlarge  his  clear- 
ing and  extend  his  fields.  Or,  let  him  contract  for 
the  clearing  at  so  much  the  acre.  Some  of  the  very 
best  wheat-land  in  this  valley  is  covered  with  oak-grubs 
which  have  sprung  up  within  the  last  twenty  years  to  a 
height  of  from  ten  to  twenty  feet.  Chinamen  are  gen- 
erally used  to  clear  this  land,  being  engaged  at  the  rate 
of  from  eighty  to  ninety  cents  a  day  ;  that  is,  from  three 
shillings  fourpence  to  three  shillings  tenpence  English. 
They  want  looking  after  closely  to  get  full  value  from 
their  work.  They  come  in  gangs  of  any  size  wanted, 
and  have  to  be  provided  with  a  rough  hut  to  sleep  in  ; 
they  furnish  their  own  food  and  cooking.  The  oak- 
wood  is  not  only  cut,  but  the  roots  are  grubbed  out, 
and  the  land  left  ready  for  the  plow.  The  wood  is 
cut  into  four-feet  lengths  and  stacked  ready  for  carting 
away.  It  is  worth  almost  anywhere  in  the  valley  not 
less  than  three  dollars  a  cord  ;  that  is,  a  pile  eight  feet 
long,  four  feet  wide,  and  four  feet  high.  Thus  the 
farmer  who  has  a  little  capital  and  so  can  afford  the 
first  outlay,  need  not  hesitate  to  clear  this  oak-grub 
land,  as  the  value  of  the  cord-wood  and  the  first  year's 
crop  should  more  than  defray  the  expense  of  the  grub- 
bing. 

In  England  it  is  usual  to  bring  into  farming  course 
gradually  woodland  that  has  been  cleared,  sowing  oats 
first.  Here,  on  the  contrary,  the  farmer  may  expect  a 
good  wheat  crop  from  his  cleared  woodland  the  first 
year. 


PROFITS  ON  A    VALLEY  FARM.  45 

Yet  another  method  of  clearing  is  very  effective 
and  economical,  especially  at  a  distance  from  the  haunts 
of  Chinamen.  A  strong  wooden  windlass  is  made  and 
fitted  with  a  long  lever  for  one  horse.  The  windlass  is 
anchored  down  near  the  oak-grub  or  cherry-brush  to  be 
got  rid  of.  A  strong  iron  chain  is  caught  round  the 
bush  and  attached  to  the  windlass.  The  horse  marches 
round  and  round,  and  winds  up  the  windlass-rope  ;  the 
roots  soon  crack  and  tear.  The  farmer  stands  by,  axe 
in  hand,  and  one  or  two  strokes  sever  the  toughest 
roots,  and  the  bush  is  torn  up  by  main  force,  root  and 
branch.  One  man  and  a  horse  can  thus  do  the  work 
of  six  men,  and  do  it  effectually  too. 

Before  we  turn  to  other  subjects  let  me  give  some 
idea  of  what  a  newly  arrived  farmer  may  expect  to  get, 
if  he  settles  on  a  valley  farm. 

Suppose  the  farm  to  consist  of  400  acres,  of  which 
150  acres  are  plowed  land,  the  remainder  being  rough 
pasture,  and  30  acres  brush.  Of  the  150  acres,  90  acres 
would  be  in  wheat  and  60  in  oats  and  timothy-grass. 
The  wheat-land  would  produce  26  bushels  to  the  acre,  or 
2,340  bushels  in  all.  The  value  may  be  taken  to  be  90 
cents  the  bushel,  on  an  average  of  years,  or  $2,106  in 
all.  The  farmer  would  have  a  flock  of  250  sheep,  the 
produce  from  which  in  wool  and  lambs  would  not  be 
less  than  $300  a  year.  He  would  breed  and  sell  two 
colts  a  year,  yielding  him  certainly  $125,  probably  half 
as  much  more.  He  would  have  ten  tons  of  timothy-hay 
to  sell,  producing  $75.  He  should  fat  not  less  than  a 
dozen  hogs,  worth  $10  each,  or  $120.  We  will  say  noth- 
ing of  milk,  butter,  eggs,  fruit,  and  garden  produce  ; 
but,  from  the  souces  of  profit  we  have  enumerated,  you 
will  find  the  return  to  be  $2,726. 


46  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

The  necessary  expenses  would  be  the  wages  of  one 
hired  hand,  say  $300  a  year ;  harvesting,  $150,  and 
other  expenses,  such  as  repairs  to  implements,  horse- 
shoeing, and  wheat-bags  for  the  grain,  $276,  leaving  a 
net  return  of  $2,000.  Supposing  that  the  cost  of  the 
farm  was  $25  an  acre,  or  $10,000  in  all,  I  think  the 
return  is  a  pretty  good  one  on  such  a  figure,  even  if  an- 
other $1,000  or  $1,500  has  to  be  added  for  implements, 
farm-horses,  and  sheep,  to  start  with. 

The  figures  I  have  given  are  from  the  actual  work- 
ing of  a  thoroughly  reliable  man,  but  relate  to  a  year 
slightly  above  the  general  average  of  profit.  You  will 
see  a  large  possibility  of  improvement  in  bringing  more 
of  the  unbroken  land  into  cultivation,  either  in  grain 
or  in  tame  grasses,  and  better  sheep  and  cattle  feed.  So 
much  for  a  valley  farm  at  present  prices.  Naturally, 
the  figures  will  alter  as  time  goes  on,  as  I  do  not  im- 
agine that  the  present  prices  of  land  will  continue  sta- 
tionary, in  the  face  of  new  railroads,  improved  commu- 
nications, and  growing  population. 

Let  us  look  at  the  opportunities  of  an  emigrant  with 
less  capital  and  greater  willingness  to  dispense  with  some 
of  the  valley  advantages. 

His  400  acres  would  probably  give  him  only  50 
acres  of  farming,  cleared  land  ;  but  adjoining,  or  at 
any  rate  near  by,  he  would  find  land  belonging  still 
to  the  Government,  or  untilled  and  unfenced,  for  his 
cattle  to  range  over.  He  would  have,  say,  20  acres  of 
wheat,  giving  him  500  bushels,  and  30  acres  of  oats  and 
timothy-hay,  yielding  600  bushels  of  oats,  of  which  200 
would  be  for  sale,  and  the  rest  for  use  and  seed,  and  30 
tons  of  hay.  He  would  have,  say,  40  cattle,  of  which  15 
would  come  into  market  each  year.  The  average  value 


PROFITS  ON  A  FOOT-HILLS  FARM,          47 

of  these  would  be  $18,  or  $270  in  all.  Add  20  hogs  at 
$10,  or  $200  in  all.  He  must  also  raise  and  sell  three 
colts  a  year/  giving  him  $150.  Looking  to  smaller 
items  of  profit,  the  farmer's  wife  should  have  ten  pounds 
of  butter  a  week  to  sell,  at  any  rate,  through  the  sum- 
mer months,  which  at  20  cents  a  pound  would  give  her 
$2  a  week  for  25  weeks,  or  $50  in  all.  Eggs  should 
yield  also  not  less  than  $40  in  the  year.  This  all  totals 
to  $1,240,  against  an  original  outlay  of  $10  an  acre,  or 
$4,000  in  all  for  the  farm,  and  $1,500  for  implements 
and  stock. 

If  the  farmer  is  a  sportsman,  he  may  add  a  good 
many  deer  in  the  course  of  the  year  to  the  family  larder, 
and  also  pheasants  and  partridges  and  quail,  from  Au- 
gust to  November.  I  use  the  local  names,  the  ruffed 
grouse  and  the  common  grouse  being  in  question. 


CHAPTEK  IV. 

A  spring  ride  in  Oregon — The  start — The  equipment — Horses  and  saddlery 
— Packs — The  roadside — Bird  fellow-travelers — Snakes— The  near- 
est farm— Bees— The  great  pasture— The  poisonous  larkspur— Market- 
gardening— The  Cardwell  Hill— The  hill-top— The  water-shed— 
Mary  Eiver — Grain's — The  Yaquina  Valley — Brush,  grass,  and  fern 
— The  young  Englishmen's  new  home — A  rustic  bridge — u  Chuck- 
holes" — The  road  supervisor — Trapp's — The  mill-dam— Salmon-pass 
law— Minnows  and  crawfish— The  Pacific  at  rest— Yaquina— Newport. 

SOME  months  ago  I  noticed  an  observation  in  the 
"Spectator,"  in  a  critique  of  a  book  of  the  Duke  of 
Argyll's  on  Canadian  homes,  to  the  effect  that  what 
was  wanted  was  such  a  description  of  roadside,  farm, 
and  woodland  as  should  cause  far-away  readers  to  see 
them  in  their  ordinary,  every-day  guise. 

I  have  often  felt  the  same  need  in  books  of  travels, 
when  I  little  thought  it  would  ever  fall  to  my  lot  to  try 
to  bring  a  land  thousands  of  miles  away  before  untrav- 
eled  eyes. 

So,  take  a  ride  with  me,  in  May,  from  our  town  to 
Yaquina  Bay,  just  sixty-six  miles  off. 

I  have  already  said  enough  of  the  valley  lying  here, 
in  the  early  morning,  calm  and  quiet,  with  the  light 
mist  tracing  out  the  course  of  the  great  river  for  miles 
into  the  soft  distance,  and  the  Cascade  Eange  standing 
out  clear  above.  But  we  turn  our  backs  on  the  town 
and  face  toward  the  west. 

One  word  on  mount  and  equipment.  The  horse  is 
a  light  chestnut— sorrel  we  call  it  here — about  fifteen 


HORSES  AND  SADDLERY.  49 

hands  high,  compact  and  active,  with  flowing  mane  and 
tail.  He  cost  a  hundred  dollars  six  months  back ;  in 
England,  for  a  park  hack,  he  would  be  worth  three 
fourths  as  many  pounds.  He  has  four  paces — a  walk 
of  about  four  miles  an  hour,  a  jog-trot  of  five,  a  lope  or 
canter  of  six  or  seven,  and  a  regular  gallop.  He  passes 
from  one  pace  to  another  by  a  mere  pressure  of  the 
leg  against  his  sides,  and  the  gentlest  movement  of 
the  reins.  To  turn  him,  be  it  ever  so  short,  carry  the 
bridle-hand  toward  the  side  you  want  to  go,  but  put 
away  all  notion  of  pulling  one  rein  or  the  other.  He 
will  walk  unconcernedly  through  the  deepest  mud  or 
the  quickest  flowing  brook,  and  climb  a  steep  hill  with 
hardly  quickened  breath ;  if  he  meets  a  big  log  in  the 
trail,  he  will  just  lift  his  fore-legs  over  it  and  follow 
with  his  hind-legs  without  touching  it,  and  hardly  mov- 
ing you  in  the  saddle.  And  he  will  carry  a  twelve-stone 
man,  with  a  saddle  weighing  nearly  twenty  pounds,  and 
a  pack  of  fifteen  pounds  behind  the  saddle,  from  eight 
in  the  morning  till  six  in  the  evening,  with  an  hour's 
rest  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  be  ready  to  do  it 
again  to-morrow,  and  the  next  day,  and  the  day  after 
that. 

The  saddle  is  in  the  Mexican  shape,  with  a  high 
pommel  in  front,  handy  for  a  rope  or  gun-sling,  and  a 
high  cantle  behind ;  it  has  a  deep,  smooth  seat,  and  a 
leather  flap  behind  and  attached  to  the  cantle  on  which 
the  pack  rests  ;  huge  wooden  stirrups,  broad  enough  to 
give  full  support  to  the  foot,  and  wide  enough  for  the 
foot  to  slip  easily  in  and  out.  A  horse-hair  belt,  six 
inches  wide,  with  an  iron  ring  at  each  end,  through 
which  runs  a  buckskin  strap  to  attach  it  to  the  saddle, 
and  by  which  it  is  drawn  tight,  forms  a  "sinch,"  the 


50  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

substitute  for  girths.  The  word  "sinch"  is  a  good 
one,  and  has  passed  into  slang.  If  your  enemy  has  in- 
jured you  and  you  propose  to  return  the  compliment 
in  the  reverse  of  Christian  fashion,  "I'll  sinch  him/' 
say  you.  If  a  poor  player  has  won  the  first  trick  by 
accident,  "I  guess  he'll  get  sinched  soon,"  says  the 
looker-on. 

I  advise  no  Englishman  to  bring  saddlery  to  Oregon. 
He  will  save  no  money  by  doing  so,  and  will  not  be  fit- 
ted out  so  well  for  the  hours-long  rides  he  will  have. 
I  have  only  heard  one  Englishman  out  of  fifty  say  that 
he  prefers  the  English  saddle,  after  getting  used  to  the 
Mexican,  and  he  had  brought  one  out  with  him  and 
used  it  out  of  pride. 

Behind  the  saddle  is  the  pack.  Just  a  clean  flannel 
shirt  and  a  pair  of  socks,  a  hair-brush,  a  comb  and 
tooth-brush,  fit  us  out  for  a  week  or  two  ;  baggage  be- 
comes truly  "impedimenta"  when  you  have  to  carry  it 
on  your  horse.  You  need  not  carry  blankets  now,  for 
there  are  good  stopping-houses  at  fit  distances  apart. 
But  you  may,  if  you  wish,  bring  your  Martini  carbine, 
or  Winchester  rifle,  for  we  may  meet  a  deer  by  the  way. 
So  we  start. 

The  first  mile  or  two  is  along  the  open  road.  A 
brown,  rather  dusty  track  in  the  center,  beaten  hard  by 
the  travel ;  on  either  side  a  broad  band  of  short  grass  ; 
and  snake-fences,  built  of  logs  ten  feet  long,  piled  seven 
high,  and  interlaced  at  the  ends.  In  the  angles  of 
nearly  every  panel  of  the  fence  grows  a  rose-bush,  now 
covered  with  young  buds,  just  showing  crimson  tips. 
As  we  canter  by,  a  meadow-lark  gives  us  a  stave  of  half- 
finished  song  from  the  top  of  the  fence,  and  flits  off  to 
pitch  some  fifty  yards  away,  in  the  young  green  wheat, 


SNAKES.  51 

and  try  again  at  his  song.  The  bird  is  nearly  as  large 
as  an  English  thrush,  with  speckled  breast,  and  a  bright- 
yellow  patch  under  the  tail.  Just  in  front  of  us,  on  the 
fence,  sits  a  little  hawk,  so  tame  that  he  moves  not  till 
we  pass  him,  and  then  by  turns  follows  and  precedes  us 
along  the  road,  settling  again  and  again  upon  the  tallest 
rails.  He  is  gayly  dressed  indeed,  with  a  russet-brown 
back  and  head,  and  a  yellow  and  brown  barred  and 
speckled  chest,  and  all  the  keenness  of  eye  one  looks 
for  in  his  tribe. 

Early  as  it  is,  here  and  there  in  the  road  is  one  of 
the  little  brown  snakes  that  abound  in  the  valley ;  se- 
duced from  his  hole  by  the  warm  sun,  he  is  enjoying 
himself  in  the  dust,  and  only  just  has  time  to  glide 
hastily  away  as  the  horse-hoofs  threaten  his  life.  Their 
harmlessness  and  use  in  waging  war  on  beetles,  worms, 
and  frogs,  ought  to  save  their  lives  ;  but  they  are  snakes, 
and  that  suffices  to  cause  every  passer-by  to  strike  at 
them  with  his  staff. 

The  face  of  the  country  is  vivid  green,  the  autumn- 
sown  wheat  nearly  knee-high,  and  the  oats  running  the 
wheat  a  race  in  height  and  thickness.  The  orchard- 
trees  close  to  the  farmhouse  we  are  approaching  stand 
clothed  from  head  to  foot  in  flower ;  the  pear-trees, 
whose  branches  are  not  now  curved  and  bent  with 
fruit,  tower  as  white  pyramids  above  the  heads  of  the 
blushing  apples. 

Close  by  the  orchard-fence  the  ewes  and  lambs  feed, 
the  little  ones  leaping  high  and  throwing  themselves 
away  with  the  mere  joy  of  warm  sun  and  young  life. 

The  farmer  sees  us  coming,  and  scolds  back  the 
rough  sheep-dog  noisily  barking  at  the  strangers  as  he 
comes  to  his  gate  to  shake  hands.  "Won't  you  hitch 


52  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON'. 

your  horse  and  come  in  ?  "  he  says  ;  "  I  want  you  to  look 
at  these  bees — I  have  got  six  swarms  already."  And 
under  the  garden-fence  stands  a  long,  low-boarded  roof, 
and  under  it  a  whole  row  of  boxes  and  barrels,  of  all 
ages  and  sizes,  with  a  noisy  multitude  coming  and  going. 
Straw  hives  are  unknown,  and  any  old  tea-chest  is  used. 
Not  much  refinement  about  bee-keeping  in  Oregon  ;  but 
honey  fetches  from  thirty  to  fifty  cents  a  pound. 

We  mount  again,  and,  passing  through  a  couple  of 
loosely  made  and  carelessly  hung  gates,  we  enter  the  big 
pasture.  Not  very  much  grass  in  it;  it  is  wet,  low-lying, 
undrained  land.  The  wild-rose  bushes  are  scattered 
here,  there,  and  everywhere  in  clumps,  and  the  face 
of  the  field  is  strewed  with  the  dull,  light-green,  thick 
and  hairy  leaves  of  a  wild  sunflower,  whose  bright-yel- 
low flowers  with  a  brown  center,  all  hanging  as  if  too 
heavy  for  the  stalk,  have  not  yet  matured.  The  cattle 
are  very  fond  of  this  plant,  and  do  well  on  it.  An  en- 
emy of  theirs  is  the  lupin,  here  called  the  larkspur,  one 
of  the  earliest  of  spring  plants.  Its  handsome,  dark-blue 
flowers  do  not  redeem  it,  for  the  cattle  are  deceived  by 
it,  eat,  and  are  seized  with  staggers,  and  will  sink  down 
and  die  if  not  seen  to  and  treated.  One  of  our  friends 
tells  us  that  he  cures  his  larkspur-poisoned  cattle  with 
fat  pork,  lumps  of  which  he  stuffs  down  their  throats. 
This  information  we  submit  to  an  unprejudiced  public, 
but  we  do  not  guarantee  that  this  remedy  will  cure.  It 
is  generally  two-year-old  cattle  which  partake  and  sicken 
— perhaps  the  calves  have  not  enterprise  enough,  and  the 
older  cattle  too  much  sense. 

The  plant  is  not  so  very  common,  but  it  has  to  be 
watched  for  and  extirpated  when  found.  Between  tin* 
pasture  and  the  wheat-fields  stands  another  snake-fence 


THE  CARD  WELL  HILL.  53 

and  a  gate.  Alas  !  by  the  gate,  and  to  be  crossed  before 
we  reach  it,  is  the  Slough  of  Despond — a  big,  deep,  un- 
compromising pool  of  black,  sticky  mud.  The  horses 
eye  it  doubtfully,  and  put  down  their  noses  to  try  if  it 
smells  better  than  it  looks,  and  then  step  gravely  in, 
girth-high  almost,  till  we  open  and  force  back  the  heavy 
gate. 

Skirting  the  wheat-field,  between  it  and  the  creek, 
hardly  seen  for  the  undergrowth  of  rose-bushes  and 
hazel,  with  here  and  there  a  big  oak-tree,  the  road 
brings  us  out  into  a  patch  of  garden-ground,  filled  with 
vegetables  for  the  town  housekeepers.  Just  now  there 
is  little  to  be  seen  but  some  rows  of  early  peas  and 
spring  cabbage.  Later  on,  the  long  beds  of  onions, 
French  beans,  cauliflowers,  and  all  the  rest,  with  the 
melons,  squashes,  or  vegetable  marrows,  pumpkins,  cu- 
cumbers, and  tomatoes  (which  were  the  glory  of  the 
gardener),  showed  the  full  advantages  of  the  irrigating 
ditches,  fed  by  the  higher  spring,  which  are  led  here, 
there,  and  everywhere  through  the  patch.  For,  remem- 
ber, we  had  almost  continuous  fine  weather,  with  hot 
sun  and  few  showers,  from  the  middle  of  May  till  the 
middle  of  October. 

But  here  is  the  main  road  again,  which  we  left  to 
turn  across  the  fields,  and  we  are  at  the  foot  of  the 
Card  well  Hill.  The  wood  lies  on  both  sides  of  us, 
and  we  mount  rapidly  upward.  The  wild-strawberry 
creeps  everywhere  along  the  ground,  its  white  flower 
and  yellow  eye  hiding  modestly  under  the  leaves.  The 
catkins  on  the  hazel-bushes  dangle  from  each  little 
bough.  The  purple  iris  grows  thickly  in  the  frequent 
mossy  spots,  and  the  scarlet  columbine  peers  over  the 
heads  of  the  bunches  of  white  flowers  we  knew  not  wheth- 


54  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

er  to  call  lilies-of- the- valley  or  Solomon's  seal,  for  they 
bear  the  features  of  both.  The  purple  crocuses  have 
not  yet  all  gone  out  of  bloom,  though  their  April  glory 
has  departed,  and  the  tall  spear-grass  gives  elegance  all 
round  to  Dame  Nature's  bouquets. 

We  have  ample  time  to  take  in  all  these  homely 
beauties,  for  the  road  is  too  thickly  shaded  by  the  wood 
for  the  sun  to  dry  the  mud,  and  our  horses  painfully 
plod  upward,  with  a  noisy  "suck,  suck,"  as  each  foot 
in  turn  is  dragged  from  the  sticky  mass. 

But  the  undergrowth  is  thinner  as  we  mount ;  first 
oak-scrub  and  then  oak-trees  growing  here  and  there, 
with  grass  all  round,  take  the  place  of  the  copse,  and 
the  mountain  air  blows  fresh  in  our  faces  as  we  near  the 
summit.  Halting  for  a  moment  to  let  the  horses  regain 
their  breath,  we  turn  and  see  the  whole  broad  valley 
lying  bright  in  sunshine  far  below.  So  clear  is  the  air 
that  the  firs  on  the  Cascades,  forty  miles  away,  are  hard- 
ly blended  into  a  mass  of  dark,  greenish  gray ;  and  the 
glorious  snow-peaks  shining  away  there  twenty  miles 
behind  those  firs,  look  to  be  on  speaking  terms  with  the 
Coast  Range  on  which  we  stand. 

But  we  pursue  our  westward  course  along  a  narrow 
track  following  the  hill-side  near  the  top,  leaving  the 
road  to  take  its  way  down  below,  to  round  the  base  of 
the  hill  which  we  strike  across.  This  hill  is  bare  of 
trees,  and  is  covered  now  with  bright,  young,  green 
grass,  soon  to  be  dried  and  shriveled  into  a  dusty  brown 
by  the  summer  sun.  We  wind  round  the  heads  of 
rocky  clefts  or  canons,  down  each  of  which  hastens  a 
murmuring  stream.  There  the  oaks  and  alders  grow 
tall,  but  we  look  over  their  heads,  so  rapid  is  the  de- 
scent to  the  vale  below. 


THE  YAQUINA    VALLEY.  55 

The  mountains  on  the  distant  left  of  us  are  Mary's 
Peak  and  the  Alsea  Mountain  ;  the  former  with  smooth 
white  crown  of  snow  above  the  dark  fir  timber;  and 
away  to  the  right,  among  lower,  wooded  hills,  we  catch 
one  glimpse  of  the  burned  timber,  the  thick  black  stems 
standing  out  clear  on  the  horizon-line. 

Passing  down  the  hill  and  by  the  farmhouse  at  the 
foot,  with  its  great  barn  and  blooming  orchard,  we  strike 
the  road  once  more,  passing  for  a  mile  or  two  between 
wheat-fields,  with  the  Mary  Eiver  on  the  left  closed 
from  our  sight  by  the  screen  of  firs  that  follow  it  all 
the  way  along ;  then  by  a  bridge  and  by  other  farms, 
and  between  fir-woods  of  thickly  standing  trees,  and 
up  and  down  hill,  with  here  and  there  a  level  valley  in 
between,  we  strike  the  Mary  River  again  for  the  last 
time,  and  climb  the  Summit  Hill. 

We  are  twenty-two  miles  from  our  starting-point, 
and  claim  a  meal  and  rest.  We  are  among  old  friends 
as  we  ride  up  to  Grain's  to  dine,  and  the  noonday  sun 
is  hot  enough  for  us  to  enjoy  the  cool  breeze  among  the 
young  firs  behind  the  house,  as  we  stand  to  wash  hands 
and  face  by  the  bench  on  the  side  of  the  dairy  built 
over  the  stream  close  by.  The  horses  know  their  way 
to  the  barn,  to  stand  with  slackened  sinches,  and  nuzzle 
into  the  sweet  timothy-hay  with  which  the  racks  are 
filled. 

On  our  way  once  more,  in  half  an  hour  we  stand  on 
the  edge  of  the  water-shed,  and  look  down  far  into  the 
Yaquina  Valley,  lying  deep  between  rugged  and  broken 
hills  below.  As  we  dip  below  the  crest,  the  character 
of  the  vegetation  changes  at  once. 

We  have  left  the  thick  woods  behind.  The  last 
of  the  tall  green  firs  clothes  the  crest  we  have  passed, 


56  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

and  the  black  burned  timber  is  dotted  along  the  hill, 
sides. 

Last  year's  brake-fern  clothes  the  hills  in  dull  yel- 
low and  brown,  except  where  patches  of  thimble-berry 
and  salmon-berry  bushes  have  usurped  its  place.  The 
wild-strawberry  has  been  almost  entirely  left  behind, 
and  instead  there  is  the  blackberry- vine  trailing  every- 
where along  the  rough  ground,  and  casting  its  purple- 
tinged  tracery  over  the  fallen  logs.  There  is  plenty  of 
grass  among  the  fern,  and  the  wild-pea  grows  erect  as 
yet,  not  having  length  enough  to  bend  and  creep.  The 
river  Yaquina  comes  down  from  a  wild,  rough  valley  to 
the  right,  to  be  crossed  by  a  wooden  bridge  close  to  a 
farmhouse  on  rising  ground.  Two  of  our  recently  ar- 
rived Englishmen  have  bought  this  place,  and  are  well 
satisfied  with  their  position.  About  eight  hundred 
acres  of  their  own  land,  of  which  quite  three  hundred 
are  cultivable  in  grain,  though  not  nearly  all  now  in 
crop,  and  really  unlimited  free  range  on  the  hills  all 
round  for  stock ;  some  valley-land  which  produces 
everything  it  is  asked  ;  a  garden-patch  where  potatoes 
grew  this  year,  one  of  which  was  six  pounds  in  weight ; 
a  comfortable  house  and  substantial  barn  ;  a  trout- 
stream  by  their  doors ;  a  railroad  in  near  prospect  to 
bring  them  within  two  hours  of  a  market  at  either  end  ; 
and,  meanwhile,  a  demand  at  home  for  all  the  oats  and 
hay  they  can  raise  for  sale — it  would  be  strange,  indeed, 
I  think,  if  they  who  had  supposed  they  were  coming 
into  a  wilderness  with  everything  to  make,  were  not 
well  pleased. 

The  only  things  they  complain  of  are  the  scarcity  of 
neighbors  and  bad  roads — both,  we  hope,  in  a  fair  way 
to  be  overcome.  They  look  contented  enough,  as  they 


"  CHUCK-HOLES."  57 

stand  by  their  house-door  to  bid  us  good-day  as  we  ride 
by.  The  yalley  widens  out  and  narrows  again  in  turn. 
In  each  open  space  stands  a  farmhouse,  or  else  the  site 
demands  one. 

As  we  get  nearer  to  the  coast,  the  river  forces  its 
way  through  quite  a  narrow  gorge,  following  round  the 
point  of  a  projecting  fern-covered  slope,  and  under  the 
shadow  of  the  high  hill  on  the  northern  side.  The 
great  blechnum  ferns,  with  fronds  three  or  four  feet 
long,  are  interspersed  with  the  thimble-berry  bushes, 
and  border  the  road.  Syringa  and  deutzia  plants  and 
two  varieties  of  elder,  which  bear  black  and  red  berries, 
but  are  now  bright  with  abundant  flowers,  clothe  the 
steep  bank  overhanging  the  river,  which  here  widens 
out  into  calm  pools,  divided  by  ripples,  and  runs  over 
rocks.  And  see,  here  is  a  natural  bridge ;  a  huge  fir 
has  fallen  right  across,  and  the  farmer  has  leveled  the 
ground  up  to  the  top  of  the  trunk,  some  six  feet  high, 
and  has  set  up  a  slender  rail  on  each  side  of  his  bridge, 
and  over  it  he  drives  his  sheep  into  the  less  matted  and 
tangled  ground  on  the  far  side. 

The  road,  cut  into  the  steep  hill-side,  never  gets  the 
sunshine ;  the  mud  clogs  the  horse's  feet  and  fills  the 
"chuck-holes" — traps  for  the  unwary  driver.  Be  it 
known  that  oftentimes  a  great  log  comes  shooting 
down  the  hill  in  winter,  and  brings  up  in  its  downward 
course  on  the  ledge  formed  by  the  road.  Notice  is  sent 
to  the  road  supervisor  by  the  first  passer-by,  and  this 
functionary,  generally  one  of  the  better  class  of  farm- 
ers, who  has  charge  of  the  road  district,  calls  out  his 
neighbors  to  assist  in  the  clearing  of  the  road.  He  has 
legal  power  to  enforce  his  summons,  but  it  is  never  dis- 
regarded, and  the  "crowd"  fall  on  with  saws,  axes,  and 


58  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

levers.  They  soon  cut  a  big  " chunk"  out  of  the  log, 
some  ten  feet  long,  wide  enough  to  clear  the  center  of 
the  road,  and  roll  it  unceremoniously  away  down  the 
hill,  or  lodge  it  lengthwise  by  the  roadside.  There  they 
leave  matters,  deeming  spade-and-shovel  work  beneath 
them.  Next  winter's  rain  lodges  and  stands  in  the  dint 
made  by  the  trunk  when  it  fell,  and  in  the  depression 
left  by  the  men  who  rolled  the  middle  of  the  log  away. 
Never  filled  up,  or  any  channel  cut  to  run  the  water 
off,  a  ' ( chuck-hole  "  is  formed,  which  each  wagon  en- 
larges as  it  is  driven  round  the  edge  to  escape  the  center. 
Woe  betide  the  stranger  who  does  not  altogether  avoid, 
or  boldly  "  straddle,"  the  "  chuck-hole  "  with  his  wheels  ! 
The  side  of  the  wagon  whose  fore  and  hind  wheels  have 
sunk  into  the  hole  dips  rapidly  down,  and  he  is  fortu- 
nate who  escapes  without  an  upset,  and  with  only  show- 
ers of  liquid  mud  covering  horses,  driver,  and  load,  as 
the  team  struggles  to  drag  the  wagon  through.  But, 
pressing  through  the  gorge,  we  emerge  into  a  more  open 
stretch.  On  the  right  of  us  rises  a  smooth,  round  hill, 
fern-covered  to  the  top  ;  and  on  the  opposite  side,  next 
the  river,  planted  on  a  pretty  knoll  just  where  the  val- 
ley turns  sharply  to  the  north,  thereby  getting  a  double 
view,  is  Mr.  Trapp's  farmhouse,  our  resting-place  for 
the  night.  We  have  made  our  forty-four  miles  in  spite 
of  the  muddy  road  and  steep  grades,  and  there  is  yet 
time  before  supper  to  borrow  our  host's  rod  and  slip 
down  to  the  river  for  a  salmon-trout.  Excellent  fare 
and  comfortable  beds  prepare  us  for  the  eighteen  miles 
we  have  yet  before  us  on  the  morrow,  and  we  get  an 
early  start.  Two  miles  below  Trapp's  is  Eddy's  grist- 
mill, with  its  rough  mill-dam,  made  on  the  model  of  a 
beaver-dam,  and  of  the  same  sticks  and  stones,  but  not 


MINNOWS  AND   CRAWFISH.  59 

so  neatly  ;  the  ends  of  the  sticks  project  over  the  mill- 
pool  below,  and  prove  the  death  of  numberless  salmon, 
which  strike  madly  against  them  in  their  upward  leaps, 
and  fall  back  bruised  and  beaten  into  the  pool  again. 

An  effort  was  made  to  pass  a  law,  this  last  session  of 
the  Legislature,  compelling  the  construction  of  fish- 
passes  through  the  mill-dams  ;  but  it  was  too  useful  and 
simple  a  measure  to  provoke  a  party  fight,  and  there- 
fore was  quietly  shelved.  Better  luck  next  time. 

Presently  we  leave  the  Yaquina  Eiver,  which,  for 
over  twenty  miles,  we  have  followed  down  its  course ; 
for  never  a  mile  without  taking  in  some  little  brook, 
where  the  minnows  are  playing  in  busy  schools  over  the 
clean  gravel,  and  the  crawfish  are  edging  along,  and 
staggering  back,  as  if  walking  were  an  unknown  art 
practiced  for  the  first  time.  The  river  has  grown  from 
the  burn  we  first  crossed  to  a  tidal  watercourse,  with  a 
channel  fifteen  feet  in  depth,  and,  having  left  its  youth- 
ful vivacity  behind,  flows  gravely  on,  bearing  now  a 
timber-raft,  then  a  wide-floored  scow,  and  here  the 
steam-launch  carrying  the  mail.  But  we  climb  the 
highest  hill  we  have  jet  passed,  where  the  aneroid  shows 
us  eleven  hundred  feet  above  the  sea-level,  and  from  its 
narrow  crest  catch  our  first  sight  of  the  bay,  glittering 
between  the  fir-woods  in  the  morning  sun. 

We  leave  the  copse-woods  behind,  and  canter  for 
miles  along  a  gently  sloping,  sandy  road  ;  the  hills  are 
thick  in  fern  and  thimble-berry  bush,  with  the  polished 
leaves  and  waxy- white  flowers  of  the  sallal  frequently 
pushing  through.  We  have  got  used  by  this  time  to  the 
black,  burned  trunks,  and  somehow  they  seem  appro- 
priate to  the  view.  But  the  sound  of  the  Pacific  waves 
beating  on  the  rocky  coast  has  been  growing  louder, 


60  TWO   YEAES  IN  OREGON. 

and  as  we  get  to  the  top  of  a  long  ascent  the  whole  scene 
lies  before  us. 

That  dim  blue  haze  in  the  distance  is  the  morning 
fog,  which  has  retreated  from  the  coast  and  left  its  out- 
lines clear. 

On  the  right  is  the  rounded  massive  cape,  on  the 
lowest  ledge  of  which  stands  Foulweather  Lighthouse. 
The  bare  slopes  and  steep  sea-face  tell  of  its  basaltic 
formation,  which  gives  perpendicular  outlines  to  the 
jutting  rocks  against  which,  some  six  miles  off,  the 
waves  are  dashing  heavily. 

Between  that  distant  cape  and  the  Yaquina  Light- 
house Point  the  coast-line  is  invisible  from  the  height 
on  which  we  stand,  but  the  ceaseless  roar  tells  of  rocky 
headlands  and  pebble-strewed  beach. 

Below  us  lies  the  bay,  a  calm  haven,  with  its  narrow 
entrance  right  before  us,  and  away  off,  a  mile  at  sea,  a 
protecting  line  of  reef,  with  its  whole  course  and  its 
north  and  south  ends  distinctly  marked  by  the  white 
breakers  spouting  up  with  each  long  swell  of  the  Pacific 
waves. 

Under  the  shelter  of  the  lighthouse  hill,  on  the 
northern  side,  stands  the  little  town  of  Newport,  its 
twenty  or  thirty  white  houses  and  boat-frequented  beach 
giving  the  suggestion  of  human  life  and  interest  to  the 
scene. 

Away  across  the  entrance,  the  broad  streak  of  blue 
water  marking  the  deep  channel  is  veined  witli 
white,  betraying  the  reef  below — soon,  we  trust,  to  be 
got  rid  of  in  part  by  the  engineers  whose  scows  and 
barges  are  strewed  along  the  south  beach  there  in  the 
sun. 

On  that  south  side  a  broad  strip  of  cool,  gray  sand 


NEWPORT.  61 

borders  the  harbor,  and  there  stand  the  ferry-house,  and 
its  flag-staff  and  boats. 

Looking  to  the  left,  the  fir-crowned  and  fern-cov- 
ered hills  slope  down  to  Ford's  Point,  jutting  out  into 
deep  water,  which  flows  up  for  miles  till  the  turn  above 
the  mill  shuts  in  the  view. 

But  we  must  not  wait,  if  we  mean  to  catch  any 
flounders  before  the  tide  turns,  and  so  we  hurry  down 
to  the  beach  and  along  the  hard  sand  bordering  the  bay 
under  the  broken  cliffs,  and  are  soon  shaking  hands 
with  the  cheery  landlord  of  the  Sea- View  Hotel,  who 
has  been  watching  us  from  his  veranda  ever  since  we 
descended  the  hill  from  Diamond  Point. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Hay-harvest — Timothy-grass — Permanent  pasture — Hay-making  by  ex- 
press— The  mower  and  reaper — Hay-stacks  as  novelties — Wheat-har- 
vest—Thrashing  —The  "  thrashing  crowd  "— "  Headers  "  and  "  self- 
binders" — Twine- binders  and  home-grown  flax — Green  food  for 
cows — Indian  corn,  vetches — Wild-oats  in  wheat — Tar-weed  the  new 
enemy — Cost  of  harvesting — By  hired  machines — By  purchased  ma- 
chines— Cost  of  wheat-growing  in  the  Willamette  Valley. 

NEITHER  the  first  nor  the  second  year  did  hay-har- 
vest begin  with  us  till  after  the  first  week  in  July. 
We  did  not  shut  the  cattle  off  the  hay-fields  till  the 
end  of  February,  so  that  there  was  a  great  growth  of 
grass  to  be  made  in  four  months  and  a  half. 

How  different  our  hay-fields  are  from  those  in  the 
old  country  !  I  should  dearly  like  to  show  to  some  of 
these  farmers  a  good  old-fashioned  Devonshire  or  Wor- 
cestershire field,  with  its  thick,  solid  undergrowth  and 
waving  heads.  I  should  like  them  to  see  how  much 
feed  there  was  after  the  crop  was  cut. 

Here  timothy-grass  is  everything  to  the  farmer. 
Certainly,  the  old -country  man  would  open  his  eyes  to 
see  a  crop  waist-high,  the  heavy  heads  four  to  seven 
inches  long,  and  giving  two  tons  to  the  acre.  And  he 
would  revel  in  laying  aside  for  good  and  all  that  anxiety 
as  to  weather  which  has  burdened  his  life  ever  since  he 
took  scythe  and  pitchfork  in  hand.  We  expect  nothing 
else  but  dewy  nights  and  brilliant  sunshine,  so  that  the 
habit  is  to  cut  one  day,  pile  the  grass  into  huge  cocks 


TEE  MO  WEE  AND  REAPER.  63 

the  same  day,  and  carry  it  to  the  barn  the  next.  Hay- 
stacks are  unknown ;  the  whole  crop  is  stored  away  in 
the  barn  ;  and  you  may  see  sixty,  eighty,  or  a  hundred 
tons  under  the  one  great  roof,  and  no  fear  of  heating 
or  burning  before  the  farmer's  eyes. 

The  glory  of  the  scythe  has  departed.  Every  little 
farmer  has  his  mower,  or  mower  and  reaper  combined ; 
or  else,  if  he  can  not  afford  to  pay  two  hundred  dollars 
or  thereabout  for  his  machine,  he  hires  one  from  his 
more  fortunate  neighbor,  and  pays  him  "six  bits" — 
that  is,  seventy-five  cents — per  acre  for  cutting  his 
crop.  Wood's,  McCormick's,  or  the  Buckeye,  are  the 
favorites  here. 

Our  own  machine,  with  one  pair  of  stout  horses,  cuts 
from  nine  to  twelve  acres  a  day,  according  to  the  thick- 
ness of  the  crop  and  the  level  or  hilly  nature  of  the 
ground.  It  looks  easy — just  riding  up  and  down  the 
field  all  day — but  try  it,  and  you  will  find  you  have  to 
give  close  attention  all  the  time,  to  be  ready  to  lift 
your  knives  over  a  lumpy  bit  of  ground  or  round  a 
stump,  and  to  cut  your  turns  and  corners  clean ;  and 
there  are  no  springs  to  your  seat,  and  a  mower  is  not 
the  easiest  carriage  in  the  world. 

Nor  is  it  light  work  to  follow  the  horse  hay-rake  all 
day,  lifting  the  teeth  at  every  swath.  Pitching  hay  is 
about  the  same  work  all  the  world  over,  I  think  ;  but 
at  home  one  does  not  expect  to  make  acquaintance  with 
quite  so  many  snakes,  which  come  slipping  down  and 
twisting  and  writhing  about  as  the  hay  is  pitched  into 
the  wagon.  It  is  true  they  are  harmless,  but  I  don't 
like  them,  all  the  same. 

We  put  up  a  big  hay-stack  each  year,  in  spite  of  the 
most  dismal  prophecies  from  our  neighbors  that  the 


64:  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

rain  would  mold  the  hay,  that  it  would  not  be  fit  to 
use,  and  that  even  a  "town-cow"  would  despise  it  (and 
they  will  eat  anything  from  deal  boards  to  sulphur- 
matches,  I  declare).  But  the  event  justified  us,  and  the 
whole  stack  of  1879  was  duly  eaten  to  the  last  mouthful. 

Wheat  and  oats  follow  close  on  the  heels  of  the  hay. 
We  finished  our  stack  on  the  17th  of  July,  and  began 
cutting  wheat  on  the  27th. 

There  is  one  harvest,  and  only  one,  on  record  in 
Oregon,  where  rain  fell  on  the  cut  grain  and  injured 
it.  The  rule  is  to  feel  absolutely  secure  of  cutting  your 
grain,  thrashing  it  in  the  field  as  soon  as  cut,  and  carry- 
ing it  from  the  thrashing-machine  straight  to  the  ware- 
house. 

There  is  lively  competition  to  get  the  thrasher  as 
soon  as  the  grain  is  cut.  The  "thrashing  crowd,"  of 
some  seven  or  eight  hands,  which  accompany  the 
thrasher,  have  a  busy  time.  They  get  good  wages — 
from  the  $2.50  for  the  experienced  "feeder"  of  the 
machine,  to  the  $1.50  for  the  man  who  drives  and  loads 
the  wagon,  or  pitches  the  sheaves.  They  travel  from 
farm  to  farm,  setting  up  the  thrasher  in  a  central  spot, 
and  "hauling"  the  sheaves  to  it.  The  quantity  passed 
through  the  machine  in  one  long  day  varies  from  one 
thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  bushels  with  horse-power  ; 
driven  by  steam,  the  quantity  will  run  up  to  upward  of 
two  thousand  bushels.  These  quantities  seem  very 
large  by  the  side  of  those  yielded  by  English  machines, 
but  they  are  too  well  authenticated  to  be  open  to  doubt. 

A  great  wheat-field  of  a  hundred  acres,  with  headers 
and  thrasher  going  at  once,  is  a  lively  scene.  The 
"header  "is  a  huge  construction  ten  feet  wide.  Ke- 
volving  frames  in  front  bend  the  wheat  to  the  knives, 


"HEADERS"  AND  "SELF-BINDERS."         65 

where  it  is  cut  and  delivered  in  an  endless  stream  into 
a  great  header-wagon,  driven  alongside  the  cutting- 
machine.  Six  horses  propel  the  header  in  front  of 
them,  and  move  calmly  along  unterrified  by  the  revolv- 
ing frames  and  vibrating  knives.  As  soon  as  the  head- 
er-wagon is  filled,  it  is  driven  off  to  the  thrasher,  whir- 
ring away  in  the  center  of  the  field,  and  an  empty  one 
takes  its  place. 

Six  horses  to  the  header,  two  each  to  three  header- 
wagons,  eight  to  the  horse-power  on  the  thrasher,  and 
one  to  the  straw-rake,  are  all  going  at  once.  One  man 
driving  the  header,  one  each  to  the  three  wagons,  two 
feeding  and  tending  the  thrasher,  one  fitting  and  tying 
up  the  wheat-bags  as  the  cleaned  and  finished  grain 
comes  pouring  from  the  machine,  and  one  hand  at  the 
straw-rake,  are  all  busily  at  work.  Very  speedily  the 
field  is  cleared,  and  the  just  now  waving  grain  lies  piled 
in  a  stack  of  wheat-bags  in  the  center,  waiting  the  de- 
parture of  the  "thrashing  crowd,"  to  be  hauled  by  the 
farmer  to  the  warehouse. 

A  little  of  the  straw  is  taken  to  the  farmhouse,  for 
use  as  litter  in  stable  and  pig-sty  ;  the  rest  is  set  fire 
to  as  soon  as  the  wheat  is  gone,  and  a  great,  unsightly, 
black  patch  is  the  last  record  in  the  field  of  the  year's 
crop. 

The  worst  features  of  the  "header"  are  that  the 
wheat  has  to  be  much  riper  than  for  the  reaper  or  self- 
binder,  and  consequently  more  is  strewed  about  the  field 
and  lost ;  the  machine  cuts  the  wheat  higher  up  also,  and 
consequently  leaves  more  weeds  to  ripen  and  leave  their 
seed.  Its  advantage  is  the  greater  breadth  of  its  cut  and 
more  rapid  rate  of  work.  In  more  general  use  is  the 
reaper  or  self-binder. 


66  TWO    TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Several  of  our  farmers'  wives  and  daughters  can 
take  their  turns  on  these  machines,  and  give  no  des- 
picable help  to  the  hardly-worked  men.  This  year  it 
is  expected  that  twine  will  be  substituted  for  wire,  thus 
removing  one  great  objection.  A  twine-binder  was 
exhibited  at  the  State  Fair  at  Salem,  in  full  operation, 
and  worked  well.  Besides  getting  rid  of  the  damage 
and  danger  of  the  wire  getting  into  the  thrashing- 
machines,  an  additional  advantage  will  be  the  fostering 
the  growth  of  flax  in  the  State,  and  its  working  up  into 
the  harvest-twine.  Be  it  known  that  these  counties  of 
the  Willamette  Valley  produce  the  finest  and  best  of 
flax,  samples  of  which  secured  the  highest  premium 
at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia  in  1876. 

The  culture  of  flax  and  its  manufacture  afford,  as 
far  as  I  can  judge,  one  of  the  very  best  of  the  various 
openings  at  present  attracting  both  labor  and  capital  to 
the  State.  As  a  mere  experiment  I  had  twenty-two  acres 
of  flax  sown  on  the  17th  of  June,  on  some  land  about 
three  miles  from  Corvallis  which  unexpectedly  came  un- 
der my  control.  In  seven  weeks  from  that  day  I  gathered 
a  handful,  indiscriminately,  from  an  average  spot  in 
the  field  ;  the  fiber  of  this  was  seventeen  inches  long. 

The  flax  that  was  grown  in  Linn  County,  ten  miles 
from  here,  and  used  in  the  twine-factory  there,  produced 
fiber  from  two  feet  and  a  half  to  three  feet  in  length. 
In  January  last  we  saw  it  hackled,  and  the  workman, 
a  northern  Irishman  of  long  experience,  told  us,  as  he 
gave  the  hank  he  held  in  his  hand  a  dexterous  and 
affectionate  twist,  that  he  had  never  handled  better  in 
ould  Ireland. 

I  should  dearly  like  to  see  linen-works  established 
here  ;  not  only  are  linen  goods  unreasonably  dear  on 


GREEN  FOOD  FOR   COWS.  67 

the  Pacific  coast,  but  it  goes  against  the  grain  to  see 
a  splendid  raw  material  produced  and  not  turned  to 
the  best  account.  Flax  is  not  found  here  to  be  an  ex- 
hausting crop.  The  farmers  who  haye  grown  it  say, 
on  the  contrary,  that  their  best  wheat-crop  has  followed 
flax ;  while  to  neither  one  crop  nor  the  other  is  any 
fertilizing  agent  used. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  the  farmer  finds  here  is 
to  keep  green  food  going  for  his  cows  during  the  har- 
vest months.  One  successful  expedient  is  to  grow  a 
patch  of  Indian  corn  or  maize.  Well  cultivated,  and 
the  ground  kept  stirred  and  free  from  weeds,  the  absence 
of  rain  does  not  prevent  its  growth,  and  its  succulent 
green  leaves  are  eagerly  munched  at  milking-time  by 
the  sweet-breathed  cows. 

Another  crop  just  introduced  here  is  the  vetch, 
better  known  as  tares,  for  the  same  purpose.  Two 
friends  of  mine  in  Marion  County,  forty  miles  north  of 
this  place,  have  found  the  experiment  a  very  successful 
one  ;  the  appearance  of  the  two  or  three  acres  I  put  in 
this  last  winter  goes  far  to  justify  them.  Sown  in 
December,  about  two  bushels  to  the  acre,  the  growth 
is  very  vigorous  and  the  produce  heavy. 

Continuous  cropping  in  wheat  for  many  years  has 
fostered  the  growth  of  the  wild-oats,  now  a  great  dis- 
figurement and  drawback  to  the  wheat-crop  in  this 
valley.  Traveling  north  to  Portland  by  train,  this  last 
harvest,  it  was  sometimes  even  hard  to  say  whether 
wheat  or  wild-oats  were  intended  to  be  grown.  Noth- 
ing but  summer  fallowing,  thoroughly  applied  and 
regularly  followed,  can  remedy  this.  I  have  known  a 
farmer  to  send  his  wheat  to  the  mill,  and  get  back  half 
the  quantity  in  wild-oats. 


68  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

To  the  timothy-hay  fields  a  noxious  plant  called 
"tar-weed"  is  the  great  enemy  on  all  damp  or  low- 
lying  spots.  The  plant  was  new  to  us,  but,  once  seen, 
is  never  forgotten.  Fortunately,  it  matures  later  than 
the  timothy,  and  so  does  not  get  its  seeds  transferred  ; 
but  it  is  almost  disgusting  to  see  the  skins  and  noses  of 
the  horses  and  cattle  turned  into  the  field  when  the  hay 
is  off,  coated  with  a  glutinous,  viscid  gum,  to  which 
every  speck  of  dust,  every  flying  seed  of  weeds,  sticks 
all  too  tightly.  Plowing  up  the  field,  and  summer  fal- 
lowing, are  the  only  remedies  when  the  tar- weed  gets 
too  bad  to  endure.  Tar-weed  is  an  annual  which  grows 
some  eight  or  ten  inches  high,  one  stalk  from  each 
seed  ;  short,  narrow,  hairy  leaves  of  a  dingy  green  and  a 
tiny  colorless  flower  offer  no  compensation  in  beauty 
for  the  annoyance  it  occasions  as  you  pass  through  the 
field,  and  find  boots  and  trousers  coated  with  the  sticky 
gum.  It  is  a  relief  to  know  that  it  affects  the  valley 
only,  and  does  not  mount  even  the  lower  hills  of  the 
Cascade  and  Coast  Eanges. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  harvesting  I  ought  to 
give  the  cost. 

It  is  not  now  the  question  of  the  capitalist  who  can 
afford  to  pay  from  $750  to  $1,200  for  his  thrashing- 
machine  in  addition  to  $320  for  his  self-binding  har- 
vester to  cut  his  grain  ;  but  of  the  struggling  farmer, 
who  has  to  make  both  ends  meet  by  economy  and  fore- 
thought. 

We  will  suppose  that  he  has  seventy  acres  of  wheat 
to  harvest,  and  that  it  will  produce  twenty  bushels  to 
the  acre,  a  moderate  suggestion. 

The  cutting  and  binding  in  sheaves  of  the  crop  by 
a  neighbor's  self-binder  will  cost  him  $1.25  per  acre, 


COST  OF  HARVESTING.  69 

the  contractor  supplying  the  wire.  The  machine  will 
cut  and  bind  nearly  ten  acres  a  day ;  the  cost,  there- 
fore, for  the  seventy  acres  will  be  $87.50,  or  say  $90,  to 
be  safe. 

The  thrashing  will  cost  him  six  cents  a  bushel  for 
his  wheat,  or  $84  for  his  fourteen  hundred  bushels ; 
and  the  farmer  has  to  supply  food  for  the  men  and 
horses  whose  services  he  hires.  This  expense  will  natu- 
rally vary  according  to  the  liberality  and  good  manage- 
ment of  the  farmer  and  his  wife.  It  falls  heavily  on  the 
hostess  to  provide  for  seven  or  eight  hungry  men,  in 
addition  to  her  own  family  ;  but  plentiful  food,  well 
cooked,  is  no  bad  investment,  for  it  reacts  strongly  on 
both  the  quantity  and  the  quality  of  the  work  done. 

A  fair  average  cost  is  fifty  cents  a  day  for  each  man, 
and  the  same  for  each  horse.  The  expense  of  keep  of 
the  cutting  and  binding,  man  and  three-horse  team  for 
seven  days,  will,  therefore,  be  $15.  On  a  similar  basis 
the  keep  of  the  "thrashing  crowd"  and  twelve  horses, 
for  a  day  and  a  half  and  something  over,  will  cost  just 


The  total  outlay,  therefore,  on  harvesting  a  wheat- 
crop  of  twenty  bushels  per  acre  on  seventy  acres,  when 
all  services  and  all  machines  have  to  be  hired,  will  be 
$205.  Or  an  average  of  just  fourteen  and  two-thirds 
cents  per  bushel. 

A  glance  will  show  what  a  good  investment  the  self- 
binding  harvester  is,  if  only  well  cared  for  when  harvest 
is  over.  The  farmer  who  has  a  machine  of  his  own 
saves  more  than  six  cents  a  bushel,  and,  on  a  crop  of 
fourteen  hundred  bushels  only,  would  pay  for  the  ma- 
chine in  less  than  four  years. 

Let  us  see,  then,  what  wheat-growing  in  the  Willa- 


70  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

mette  Valley  costs — a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  the  in- 
tending emigrant,  and  to  farmers  in  other  parts  of  the 
world  who  ha^  e  to  compete  with  Oregon-grown  wheat. 

"We  will  take  the  same  seventy  acres,  as  a  reasonable 
extent  for  a  small  valley  farm.  Once  plowing,  at  the 
rate  of  two  acres  a  day  with  a  three-horse  team,  or  one 
and  a  half  acre  for  a  two-horse  team — that  is  thirty- 
five  days'  labor  for  man  and  three  horses.  Twice  har- 
rowing, at  the  rate  of  fourteen  acres  a  day — that  is  ten 
days'  labor  for  a  man  and  two  horses.  Sowing,  at  the 
rate  of  twenty-one  acres  a  day,  or  three  and  a  third 
days'  labor  for  a  man  and  four  horses.  The  seed  will 
cost  $98,  at  the  rate  of  two  bushels  per  acre  and  sev- 
enty cents  a  bushel. 

The  cost,  therefore,  of  growing  the  crop  will  be 
$98  in  money,  and  the  labor  of  one  man  for  forty-eight 
days  and  a  third,  and  of  a  pair  of  horses  for  sixty-nine 
and  a  quarter  days. 

Putting  the  farmer's  labor  into  money  at  the  rate  of 
a  dollar  a  day,  and  that  of  his  team  also  at  the  rate  of 
half  a  dollar  a  day  for  each  horse  (and  these  are  here 
the  regular  rates  of  wages),  the  result  will  be  $117.50  ; 
add  the  $98  for  the  seed,  and  you  arrive  at  a  total  of 
$215.50  ;  or,  on  seventy  acr.es,  an  average  of  three  dol- 
lars and  eight  cents  an  acre  ;  or,  on  fourteen  hundred 
bushels,  of  fifteen  and  four-tenths  cents  per  bushel. 
To  this  add  the  fourteen  cents  and  two-thirds  for  har- 
vesting and  thrashing,  and  add  twelve  days'  labor  for 
man  and  one  team  of  horses  hauling  the  grain  to  the 
warehouse  :  this  represents  an  additional  cost  of  one 
cent  and  seven  tenths  per  bushel,  and  the  total  cost 
then  is  thirty-one  cents  and  seven  tenths  per  bushel. 

Remember  that  this  wheat  is  grown  on  the  farmer's 


COST  OF  WHEAT-GROWING.  71 

own  freehold,  which  may  have  cost  him  twenty  or 
twenty-five  dollars  per  acre.  Do  not  forget  also  a 
taxation  of  about  fifteen  thousandths  a  year  on  the 
total  value  of  the  farmer's  estate,  as  arranged  between 
him  and  the  assessor — land,  stock,  implements,  and 
everything  else  he  has  beyond  about  three  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  excepted  articles.  But  add  no  rent  or 
tithe,  and  recollect  that  in  this  calculation  the  farmer's 
own  labor  and  that  of  his  team  are  charged  at  market 
price  against  the  crop. 

The  charge  for  warehousing  the  wheat  till  it  is  sold 
is  four  cents  a  bushel ;  and  the  wheat-sacks,  holding 
two  bushels  each,  will  cost  from  ten  to  twelve  cents 
each. 

Add,  therefore,  still  nine  and  a  half  cents  a  bushel 
for  subsequent  charges,  and  the  farmer  who  kept  ac- 
counts would  find  his  wheat,  in  the  warehouse  and 
ready  for  market,  represented  to  him  an  outlay  of 
forty-one  cents  and  a  quarter  a  bushel. 

If  he  sells  at  eighty-five  cents  a  bushel,  that  gives 
him  a  profit  of  $8. 75  per  acre  on  the  portion  of  his 
farm  in  wheat. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  farmer's  sports  and  pastimes — Deer-hunting  tales — A  roadside  yarn 
—Still-hunting— Hunting  with  hounds— An  early  morning's  sport 
—Elk— The  pursuit— The  kill— Camp  on  Beaver  Creek— Flounder- 
spearing  by  torchlight— Flounder-fishing  by  day— In  the  bay— Eock 
oysters— The  evening  view— The  general  store— Skins— Sea-otters— 
Their  habits— The  sea-otter  hunters— Common  otter— The  mink  and 
his  prey. 

THE  Oregon  farmer  has  one  great  advantage  over  his 
Eastern  or  European  brother.  Starting  from  the  first 
of  January,  he  has  until  July  comes  a  good  many  days 
wherein  he  can  amuse  himself  without  the  detestable 
feeling  that  he  is  wasting  his  time  and  robbing  his  fam- 
ily. The  ground  may  be  either  too  hard  or  too  soft  for 
plowing ;  or  he  may  have  sown  a  large  proportion  in 
the  autumn  and  early  winter,  and  so  have  little  ground 
to  prepare  and  sow  in  spring  ;  and  he  has  little,  if  any, 
stock-feeding  to  do  as  yet. 

A  good  supply  of  hay  is  the  only  addition  to  the 
pasture-feed  that  he  need  provide  ;  so  long,  that  is,  as  he 
is  content  to  work  his  farm  in  Oregon  fashion. 

Many  a  one  is  within  reach  of  the  hills  where  range 
the  deer,  and  shares  in  the  feeling  strongly  expressed 
to  me  the  other  day,  "  I  would  rather  work  all  day  for 
one  shot  at  a  deer,  than  shoot  fifty  wild-ducks  in  the 
swamps." 

As  I  was  riding  out  to  the  hills  not  long  since,  I  met 
an  old  friend  of  mine  returning  from  a  week's  hunt  in 
the  regions  at  the  back  of  Mary's  Peak, 

His   long-bodied   farm- wagon   held   some   cooking- 


A  ROADSIDE   YARN.  73 

utensils,  the  remains  of  his  store  of  flour  and  bacon  and 
coffee,  his  blankets,  his  rifle,  and  the  carcasses  of  his 
deer.  With  him  were  two  noble  hounds,  Nero  and 
Queen — powerful,  upstanding  dogs  ;  stag-hounds  with 
a  dash  of  bloodhound  in  them ;  black  and  tan,  with  a 
fleck  of  white  here  and  there.  "  Had  a  good  time, 
John  ?  "  we  asked,  as  we  stopped  at  the  top  of  a  long 
hill  for  a  chat.  "  Well,  pretty  good— ran  four  deer  and 
killed  three ;  got  my  boots  full  of  snow,  and  bring  home 
a  bad  cold,"  he  answered.  "Where  did  you  camp  ?" 
"  Away  up  above  Stillson's,  there  " — pointing  to  the 
mountain-side  just  where  the  heavy  fir- timber  grew  scat- 
tering and  thin,  and  the  clean  sweep  of  the  sloping 
crest  came  down  to  meet  the  wood.  "  We  was  there 
inside  of  a  week,  hunting  all  the  time."  "See  any 
bear  ?  "  "  Just  lots  of  sign,  but  I  guess  my  dogs  haven't 
lost  any  bear  ;  the  old  dog  got  too  close  to  one  a  bit  ago, 
and  came  home  with  a  bloody  head  and  a  cut  on  his 
shoulder  a  foot  long. "  ' '  Eind  many  deer  ?  "  "  Had  two 
on  foot  at  once  one  day  :  killed  one,  and  hit  the  other^ 
but  he  jumped  a  log  just  as  I  shot,  and  I  guess  I  only 
barked  him ;  I  ran  after  him  to  try  for  another  shot 
before  he  got  clear  off  down  the  canon,  but  I  tumbled 
over  a  log  myself  in  the  snow,  and  just  got  wet  through, 
and  my  boots  all  filled  with  it."  "Pretty  rough  up 
there,  isn't  it?"  "Well,  it  wouldn't  be  so  bad  if  it 
wasn't  for  the  fallen  timber  ;  but  you  can't  get  through 
them  woods  fast  when  you  have  to  run  round  the 
end  of  one  big  log  one  minute  and  then  duck  under  an- 
other, and  then  scramble  on  to  the  next  for  dear  life, 
and  half  the  time  get  only  just  in  time  to  see  the  last  of 
the  deer  as  he  gets  into  the  thick  brush."  "Better 
come  out  with  us  after  the  ducks,  John."  "Blamed  if 


74  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

I  do  ! "  came  out  with  an  unction  and  energy  that  star- 
tled us.  "  Can't  understand  what  you  fellers  can  see  in 
that  duck-hunting."  And,  with  a  cheery  good-by,  the 
old  boy  spoke  to  his  horses,  and  off  they  went  down  the 
hill,  the  brake  hard  held,  and  the  wagon  pushing  the 
team  before  it  on  the  rough  corduroy  road. 

Still-hunting  is  the  more  sportsmanlike  way;  but 
the  deadlier  fashion  is  this  hunting  with  two  or  three 
hounds  :  the  slower  they  run,  the  more  chance  for  the 
guns. 

One  day  last  summer,  returning  from  the  bay,  we 
stopped  for  the  night  at  a  farm  by  the  roadside,  among 
the  burned  timber.  The  fern  had  not  grown  up  yet,  but 
the  hillsides  were  green  and  thick  with  salmon-berry 
and  thimble-berry  growth. 

Two  or  three  hounds — not  of  the  very  purest  breed, 
but  still  hounds — were  lounging  about  the  door,  and 
greeted  us  with  a  noisy  welcome  as  we  dismounted. 

The  sons  of  the  house  were  telling,  round  the  fire 
before  we  went  to  bed,  of  the  hundred  and  thirty  deer 
they  had  already  killed  this  season.  They  urged  us  to 
have  a  hunt  in  the  morning,  promising  to  get  all  done, 
so  that  we  might  be  on  the  journey  again  by  nine  in- 
stead of  seven. 

Breakfast  was  over  by  a  quarter  to  six,  and  we 
started.  Four  in  the  party — two  farmers'  sons  and  two 
travelers — and  three  hounds.  The  huntsman  carried  a 
Henry  rifle  of  the  old  model ;  his  younger  brother  a 
rifle  of  the  old  school— long,  brown,  heavy-barreled, 
throwing  a  small,  round  bullet.  Round  the  huntsman's 
neck  hung  an  uncouth  cow's  horn,  to  recall  the  hounds 
if  they  strayed  too  far  away. 

The  sun  was  just  driving  off  the  early  mist  as  we 


HUNTING    WITH  HOUNDS.  75 

tramped  along  the  road  by  the  side  of  the  river,  toward 
the  spot  where  they  intended  throwing  off.  But  before 
we  reached  the  place  a  quick  little  hound  threw  up  her 
head,  and,  with  a  short,  sharp  cry,  dashed  into  the 
brush  between  us  and  the  riyer  ;  the  other  hounds  fol- 
lowed, and  we  heard  the  plunge  and  splash  as  the 
deer,  so  suddenly  roused  from  his  lair,  took  to  his 
heels. 

The  hounds  took  up  in  full  cry  along  the  opposite 
caflon,  which  led  high  up  the  hill-side,  and  the  hunts- 
man followed,  his  jacket  changing  color  at  once  as  he 
pushed  through  the  dew-laden  brush. 

Under  the  guidance  of  the  younger  brother,  we 
crossed  the  river  also,  and,  following  the  farther  bank, 
soon  came  to  an  open,  grassy  spot,  from  the  upper  side 
of  which  a  view  was  got  of  the  course  of  the  river  as  it 
wound  round  the  lower  side  in  a  graceful  sweep.  The 
trees,  willow  and  alder,  were  thick  on  the  bank,  but 
here  and  there  we  caught  more  than  a  glimpse  of  the 
brown  water  as  it  hurried  along. 

One  of  us  being  posted  here,  our  guide  took  the 
other  still  higher  up  the  stream. 

Sitting  down  under  the  lee  of  a  big  old  log,  its  black- 
ness hidden  under  the  trailing  brambles  and  bright 
ferns,  we  waited  and  watched. 

The  cry  of  the  hounds  came  faint  on  the  air  from 
the  hill-side  above  us,  hounds  and  quarry  alike  invisible, 
and,  as  the  sides  of  the  caflon  caught  the  sounds,  echo 
returned  them  to  us  from  all  points  in  turn— fainter 
and  still  fainter,  until  we  thought  the  chase  had  gone 
clear  over  the  mountain  into  the  distant  valley  beyond  ; 
and  we  sat  watching  the  two  little  chipmunks,  grown 
hardy  by  our  stillness,  which  were  chasing  each  other 


76  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

in  and  out  among  the  brambles,  then  stopping  to  watch 
us  with  their  bright-black,  beady  eyes. 

No  sounds  at  all,  and  then  a  far-off  music,  just  audi- 
ble and  no  more.  But  it  comes  nearer,  and  we  see  our 
guide  creeping  toward  us,  rifle  in  hand,  his  face  white 
with  excitement  and  suspense.  He  can  not  resist  the 
temptation  of  passing  us  to  get  command  of  the  lower 
reach  of  the  stream,  and  we  have  sympathy  with  his 
nineteen  years,  and  take  no  notice.  Presently  a  dis- 
tant splash  in  the  river,  and  then  a  scrambling  and 
splashing  along  the  water's  edge,  and  we  catch  a  glimpse 
of  a  bright-yellow  body  flitting  rapidly  between  the 
trees.  The  young  hunter's  rifle  cracks,  but  the  deer 
only  gains  in  speed  and  dashes  by.  There  is  a  clear 
space  of  ten  or  fifteen  yards  between  the  tree- trunks  on 
our  right,  and,  as  the  deer  rushes  past,  we  get  a  quick 
sight,  almost  like  a  rabbit  crossing  a  ride  in  cover  at 
home,  and  the  Winchester  rings  out.  Whether  by  luck 
or  wit  we  will  not  say,  but  the  splash  ceases  suddenly, 
and,  running  to  the  bank,  there  lies  the  deer,  shot 
through  the  neck  close  to  the  head,  drawing  his  last 
long  breath.  He  was  soon  dragged  out  on  to  the  grassy 
bank,  and  a  feeling  of  pity  was  uppermost  as  we  admired 
his  graceful  limbs,  neat  hoofs,  and  shapely  head.  In 
about  ten  minutes'  time  came  the  hounds,  their  eager 
cry  ceasing  as  they  caught  sight  of  their  quarry,  lying 
motionless  before  them.  The  last  hunters'  rites  were 
speedily  paid,  and  we  went  a  mile  higher  up  the  stream, 
to  where  a  brook  joined  it,  flowing  quickly  down  from 
the  southern  hill. 

The  hounds  were  again  thrown  into  the  brush,  and 
before  long  were  once  more  in  full  cry.  This  time  the 
shot  fell  to  the  young  huntsman's  share,  and  we  saw 


STILL-HUNTING.  77 

toothing  of  the  chase  till,  hearing  his  rifle,  and  noticing 
the  ceasing  of  the  voices  of  the  hounds,  we  pushed  our 
way  to  the  spot,  to  find  the  obsequies  of  a  second  deer 
already  in  progress. 

Leaving  one  deer  on  a  log  by  the  roadside,  with  a 
note  attached  to  it,  asking  the  stage-driver  to  pick  it 
up  and  bring  it  for  us  into  Corvallis,  when  he  passed, 
in  a  couple  of  hours'  time,  we  retraced  our  steps,  mount- 
ed our  horses,  and  were  on  our  road,  according  to  prom- 
ise, by  very  soon  after  nine  o'clock. 

Still-hunting  is  a  more  arduous  business.  The  hunter 
has  the  work  to  do  of  finding  the  deer ;  his  rifle  must 
slay  it ;  if  he  wounds  it,  he  must  follow  it  on  foot ;  the 
imly  help  he  can  get  is  that  of  one  steady  old  dog,  which 
must  never  stray  from  his  side. 

Starting  from  his  camp  in  the  early  dawn,  he  mounts 
the  hill-side,  carefully  examining  each  likely  spot  of 
brush  as  he  passes  it,  taking  special  note  of  each  shel- 
tered patch  of  fern.  Very  carefully  he  climbs  the  logs, 
avoiding  every  dead  branch  that  may  crackle  under  his 
weight,  and  parting  the  brush  before  he  pushes  through. 
When  he  reaches  the  crest,  he  follows  it  along,  scruti- 
nizing every  cation  closely,  for  his  prey  lies  very  wisely 
hidden.  At  last,  he  sees  a  gentle  movement  in  the 
brush,  and  the  deer  rises  from  his  lair,  stretches  his 
neck,  arches  his  back,  and  snuffs  round  at  each  point  of 
the  compass  to  try  if  there  be  danger  in  the  air.  The 
hunter  sees  his  chance,  judges  his  distance  as  cleverly 
as  he  can,  remembering  that  in  this  clear  mountain  air 
he  is  almost  sure  to  underestimate  the  range  ;  the  shot 
rings  out,  and  the  deer  springs  high  into  the  air,  to  fall 
crashing  down  the  steep  cafion-side. 

The  common  deer  of  Western  Oregon  is  the  black- 


78  TWO    TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

tailed  Cervus  Columbianus.  In  the  early  spring  many 
of  them  leave  the  mountains  and  traverse  the  valley- 
land  to  the  closely  timbered  sloughs  and  brush  border- 
ing the  Willamette  River.  But,  as  the  valley  has  been 
more  closely  cultivated  and  the  farms_spread  in  a  nearly 
unbroken  line,  the  deer  have  but  a  poor  chance.  Some 
settler  is  almost  sure  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  visitor  as 
he  tops  the  snake-fence  into  the  oat-field  for  his  morn- 
ing feed,  and  the  rifle,  or  worse,  the  long  muzzle-load- 
ing shot-gun  which  carries  five  buckshot  at  a  charge, 
hangs  by  or  over  the  wide  fireplace.  If  not  killed  out- 
right, the  poor  beast  carries  with  him  a  lingering  and 
dangerous  wound.  But,  away  in  the  hills,  I  do  not 
hear  that  the  number  is  appreciably  diminished ; 
many  of  the  hunters  get  a  deer  almost  every  time  they 
go  out.  So  wasteful  are  they  that  they  carry  off  only 
the  hind  quarters,  which  they  call  the  hams,  and  the 
hide,  leaving  the  fore  quarters  and  head  to  taint  the 
air. 

The  white-tailed  deer  (Cervus  leucurus)  is  now  very 
rare.  lie  frequents  the  more  open  spots  ;  he  chooses 
the  bare  slopes. at  the  top  of  Mary's  Peak  and  the  Bald 
Mountain  ;  he  is  not  so  shy  as  his  black-tailed  brother, 
and  so  falls  an  easier  victim  to  the  rifle.  He  abounds 
in  the  Cascade  Range  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Wil- 
lamette Valley,  where  he  is  found  in  the  same  haunts 
as  the  larger  mule-deer.  The  noblest  deer  we  have  in 
Oregon  is  the  wapiti  (Cervus  Canadcnsis),  invariably 
known  in  this  country  as  elk. 

A  day  or  two  ago  I  saw  a  pair  of  fresh  horns  stand- 
ing in  front  of  one  of  the  stores  in  the  town,  which 
were  quite  four  feet  six  inches  long,  spread  three  feet 
six  inches  at  the  tips,  and  weighed  forty  pounds  by  scale. 


ELK.  79 

As  we  handled  them,  a  dry-looking,  bearded,  long-boot- 
ed fellow  joined  the  group.  "  Those  horns  are  nothing 
much,"  said  he  ;  "I  killed  an  elk  some  time  back  in  the 
Alseya  country,  back  of  Table  Mountain,  that  when  we 
set  the  horns  on  the  ground,  tips  downward,  a  feller 
could  walk  upright  through  them."  "Oh,  yes,"  said 
we  ;  "  did  you  walk  through  them,  stranger  ?  "  "  Wai, 
no,  I  guess  not,"  said  he,  "but  a  feller  might,  you 
know." 

The  elk  go  in  bands  of  from  seven  to  twenty  in 
number,  and  their  tracks  through  the  woods  are  tram- 
pled as  though  a  drove  of  cows  had  passed  along.  To 
kill  an  elk  you  can  not  go  out  before  breakfast  and 
return  to  dine.  You  must  secure  a  good  guide,  who 
knows  the  mountains  well ;  you  must  take  a  pack-horse, 
with  food  and  blankets,  as  far  into  the  wilds  as  the 
last  settlement  reaches,  and  there  leave  him.  Then 
slinging  your  blankets  round  your  shoulders,  and 
packing  some  flour,  bacon,  and  coffee,  a  small  fry- 
ing-pan and  coffee-pot,  and  tin  cup,  into  the  smallest 
possible  compass,  and  taking  your  rifle  in  your  hand, 
not  forgetting  the  tobacco,  you  must  strike  into  the 
woods. 

When  night  comes  on,  build  your  fire,  fry  your  ba- 
con, make  some  damper  in  the  ashes,  smoke  the  pipe 
of  peace,  and  lie  down  under  the  most  sheltering  bush. 
No  snakes  will  harm  you,  nor  will  wolf  or  cougar  mo- 
lest you,  and  the  softness  of  your  bed  will  not  tempt 
you  to  delay  long  between  the  blankets  after  the  first 
streak  of  dawn. 

Eise  and  breakfast,  and  then  on  again.  All  that  day, 
perhaps,  you  will  have  to  tramp  on  and  on,  seeking  one 
mountain-slope  after  another ;  here  skirting  brush  too 


80  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

thick  to  penetrate,  there  walking  easily  through  the  low 
fern  among  the  massive  red  and  furrowed  trunks  of  the 
gigantic  firs. 

Your  guide  finds  "sign,"  and  reports  that  it  is  not 
fresh  enough  to  follow ;  so  pursues  his  course  till,  look- 
ing back  on  the  devious  miles  of  weary  wandering,  you 
can  hardly  credit  it  that  you  have  been  but  eight-and- 
f  orty  hours  on  the  trail.  But  your  camp  is  pitched  once 
more,  and  dawn  has  again  roused  you  from  your  ferny 
bed.  Listen !  the  branches  are  crackling  and  rustling 
close  by.  You  and  your  guide  race  for  the  spot,  rifle 
in  hand,  too  eager  almost  to  duly  remember  woodland 
rules  of  caution.  Crouching  and  crawling  as  you  get 
closer  to  the  sounds,  peering  through  the  fern,  you  see — 
what  ?  Six,  eight,  ten,  twelve,  seventeen  great  beasts  ; 
one  with  enormous  head,  two  others  with  smaller  but 
still  imposing  antlers  ;  the  rest  the  mothers  of  the  herd. 
Unconscious  of  danger,  they  browse  round ;  both  rifles 
speak  together,  and  the  monarch  and  one  of  the  smaller 
stags  lie  prostrate.  You  stay  hidden  ;  the  deer  group 
together  in  a  confused  crowd,  too  foolish  and  excited 
to  think  of  flight.  Again  your  comrade  fires,  and  an- 
other falls,  and  yet  another,  till,  in  disgust  at  the  need- 
less slaughter,  you  step  from  your  shelter,  and  the  sur- 
vivors rush  madly  away,  crashing  through  the  wood  as 
if  a  herd  of  cattle  were  in  flight. 

I  have  known  men,  not  usually  cruel  or  excitable, 
get  so  maddened  in  a  scene  like  this,  that  seven  great 
elk  lay  dead  together  before  they  thought  of  stopping 
firing ;  and  yet  they  knew  that  from  the  wilderness  they 
stood  in  it  was  impossible  to  carry  off  the  meat  of  even 
one  ! 

Many  hunters  prefer  elk-meat  to  any  deer ;  others 


CAMP  ON  BEA  VER   CREEK.  81 

think  the  fawn  of  the  white-tailed  deer  the  best  eating 
in  the  world. 

One  night  last  summer  we  camped  out  on  Beaver 
Creek,  nine  miles  south  of  the  Yaquina,  along  the 
beach.  We  had  been  trout-fishing  all  day  from  a  canoe, 
and  were  glad  to  stretch  out  before  the  fire  limbs  that 
had  been  somewhat  cramped  from  the  need  of  balancing 
the  rocking  craft  with  every  cast  of  the  fly.  Before  the 
fire  stood  roasting  a  row  of  trout,  held  in  place  over  the 
hot  embers  by  a  split  willow  wand.  We  heard  voices 
approaching  through  the  wood,  and  presently  a  half- 
breed  hunter  and  two  friends  of  ours  came  in  sight. 
They  had  been  out  two  days  after  elk,  but  failed  to 
find.  On  the  way  back  they  came  across  a  doe  and 
well-grown  fawn ;  the  latter  they  had  killed,  and 
brought  it  in.  It  was  speedily  skinned  and  cut  up,  and 
a  loin,  shoulder,  and  leg  were  skewered  on  sticks  and 
roasting  in  the  blaze.  No  bad  addition  to  our  fish  sup- 
per, deer-meat  and  trout ;  the  coffee  was  the  only  con- 
tribution of  civilization  to  the  meal,  and  a  merry  even- 
ing, extended  far  into  the  night,  followed,  as  the  logs 
were  piled  on,  and  the  ruddy  glow  and  showers  of 
sparks  lighted  up  the  wild  but  comfortable  scene,  danc- 
ing in  the  lights  and  shadows  of  the  overhanging  trees. 

Did  you  ever  hear  of  flounder-spearing  by  torch- 
light ?  I  have  tried  it,  and  do  not  propose  to  try  it 
again.  Yaquina  Bay  abounds  in  flounders — a  flat  fish 
resembling  the  turbot  more  than  the  flounder  ;  red- 
spotted  like  the  plaice,  and  weighing  from  one  pound 
,up  to  five  or  six.  After  nightfall,  when  the  evening  tide 
has  just  turned  to  come  in,  and  the  sandy  channels  and 
banks  are  all  but  bare,  away  from  the  main  deep-water, 
channels  of  the  bay,  you  may  see  tiny  specks  of  distant 


82  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

lights  moving  on  the  black  water.  These  are  the  Ind- 
ian canoes.  Take  a  skiff  from  the  beach  by  the  hotel 
at  Newport,  and  row  out  to  sea.  Here  are  two  or  three 
lights  near  together,  under  Heddon's  Point,  on  the 
south  shore.  Row  on  till  the  lights  in  the  hotel  are 
blended  into  one,  and  the  dark  outlines  against  the  sky 
of  the  overhanging  cliffs  are  lost  to  sight.  No  sound 
reaches  you  in  the  darkness,  but  the  recurring  rattle  of 
the  sculls  in  the  rowlocks,  and  the  soft  lapping  of  the 
tide.  The  lights  you  are  seeking  grow  brighter,  and 
you  distinguish  the  glare  of  the  fire  and  the  moving, 
dim  form  of  the  fisherman.  The  canoe,  some  sixteen 
feet  long,  is  boarded  roughly  across  amidships,  and  on 
a  thin  layer  of  sand  and  wood-ashes  burns  a  pine-knot 
fire.  The  Indian  stands  in  the  bows,  his  back  to  the 
fire ;  as  you  look,  he  poles  himself  along  by  driving 
the  handle  of  his  long  spear  into  the  sand  underlying 
the  shallow  channel.  His  fire  burns  dim  for  a  moment, 
and  he  turns  and  with  the  same  spear-handle  he  trims 
it ;  then,  stooping,  throws  on  it  a  fresh  lump  of 
the  resinous  pine.  The  fire  dulls  for  an  instant,  then 
flares  with  a  bright  light,  and  a  thick  puff  of  smoke 
rises  into  the  air,  on  which  the  glare  falls  strongly. 
The  short,  athletic  form  of  the  Indian,  and  his  swarthy, 
flattened  features,  glittering  eyes,  and  bushy  hair,  stand 
out  for  a  moment  in  strong  relief.  He  turns,  and  again 
looks  keenly  into  the  black  water.  A  moment,  and  he 
strikes,  the  spear  making  the  water  flash  as  it  dips 
swiftly  in.  Yes,  he  has  it,  and  the  frail  boat  quivers 
as  he  balances  it  ere  he  lifts  out  his  struggling  prey, 
and,  with  a  deft,  quick  motion,  throws  the  fish  off, 
flapping  and  bouncing  on  a  heap  of  victims  in  the 
stern  of  the  canoe.  Without  a  smile  or  word,  or  an 


FLOUNDER-SPEARING  BY  TORCHLIGHT.     83 

instant's  respite,  he  turns  again  and  resumes  his 
keen  watch,  moving  to  the  shallower  waters  as  the 
tide  makes. 

I  had  a  friend  who  was  an  enthusiast  in  the  sport, 
and  he  beguiled  me  to  join  him.  About  eight  we 
started,  and  about  two  in  the  morning  we  returned. 
Warm  as  the  weather  was,  I  was  chilled  to  the  bone ; 
and  the  worst  of  it  was,  I  had  not  succeeded  in  striking 
one  single  fish.  My  friend  armed  me  with  a  long  spear 
and  a  lantern,  and  deposited  me  in  the  stern  of  the 
boat ;  similarly  provided,  he  knelt  in  the  bow  and 
pushed  the  skiff  along  from  bank  to  bank  of  sand  and 
mud.  My  light  did  not  burn  brightly  enough  to  show 
more  than  the  dimmest  outlines  of  the  fish,  just  off  the 
sandy  bottom  of  the  bay.  Here  scuttled  an  old  crab, 
scared  by  the  novel  light,  and  hurrying  for  shelter, 
crab-fashion,  to  the  nearest  bunch  of  weeds.  There 
was  a  school  of  tiny  fish,  their  silver  sides  glancing  as 
the  ray  reached  them  ;  and  there,  again,  a  quick,  white 
flash  betrayed  the  sea-perch,  not  waiting  to  be  spoken 
to.  Every  now  and  then  my  friend  darted  his  long 
spear  at  what  he  said  were  the  flounders,  but  I  could 
see  nothing  with  my  untrained  eyes  but  a  gray  cloud 
and  a  gentle  stirring  of  the  sand.  He  did  get  one  fish 
at  last ;  and  I,  being  too  proud  to  say  how  bored  and 
tired  I  was,  waited  sleepily  for  the  rising  tide  to  drive 
us  home.  How  glad  was  I  when  he  announced  that 
the  water  was  now  too  deep  to  see  distinctly,  and  how 
thankfully  I  stumbled  up  the  slimy  steps  by  the  little 
wharf  and  in  to  bed  ! 

Flounder-fishing  in  the  daytime  is  good  sport.  Find 
out  the  nearest  camp  of  Indians  there  on  the  beach, 
crowded  under  a  shelter  of  sea- worn  planks,  a  few  fir- 


84  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

boughs,  and  a  tattered  blanket ;  the  smell  of  tainted  fish 
pollutes  the  air,  and  a  heap  of  flounders,  each  with  the 
triangular  spear-mark,  attests  the  skill  of  last  night's 
fishermen.  "  Any  fish,  muck  -  a  -  muck  ?  "  say  you, 
blandly.  Without  turning  her  head,  or  raising  herself 
from  her  crouching  posture  by  the  old  black  kettle, 
stewing  on  a  tiny  fire  of  sticks  in  the  center  of  the  hut, 
the  old  crone  grunts  out,  "Halo"  (none).  "Want 
two  bit  ? "  you  say,  nowise  discouraged.  Money  has 
magic  power  nowadays,  and  she  rises  slowly  and  shuffles 
past  you  to  where  a  rag  or  two  are  drying  in  the  sun  on 
a  stranded  log.  From  under  the  clothes  she  brings  out 
a  dirty  basket  of  home  make,  and  in  it  is  a  heap  of 
greenish,  struggling  prawns.  She  turns  out  two  or 
three  handfuls  into  the  meat-tin  you  haye  providently 
brought,  holds  out  her  skinny  hand  for  the  little  silver 
pieces,  and  buries  herself  in  her  shanty  without  another 
word. 

Fit  out  your  fishing-lines  and  come  aboard  ;  the  tide 
has  turned,  and  the  wind  blows  freshly  across  the  bay. 
The  surf  keeps  up  its  continuous  roar  on  the  rocky  reefs 
outside.  On  the  sand-bank  in  front  of  you  sits  a  row 
of  white  and  gray  gulls  preening  themselves  in  the 
morning  sun  ;  a  couple  of  ospreys  are  sailing  overhead 
in  long,  graceful,  hardly-moving  sweeps,  and  away  out 
by  the  north  head  hangs  an  eagle  in  the  air,  watching 
the  ospreys,  that  he  may  cheat  them  of  the  fish  he  looks 
to  see  them  catch. 

Set  the  sail  and  let  her  go  free,  and  away  rushes  the 
little  boat,  tired  of  bobbing  at  her  moorings  by  the 
pier — away  across  the  bay,  to  where  the  south  beach 
sinks  in  gentle,  sandy  slope.  Take  care  of  that  waving 
weed,  or  we  shall  be  on  the  edge  of  the  bank  !  Here 


FLOUNDER-FISHING  BY  DAY.  85 

we  are,  and  down  goes  the  kedge  in  six  feet  of  water, 
close  to  but  just  clear  of  that  same  edge. 

Now  for  the  bait ;  tie  it  on  tightly  with  that  white 
cotton,  or  the  flounders  will  suck  it  off  so  fast  that  you 
will  have  nothing  else  to  do  but  keep  replacing  it. 
Keep  your  sinkers  just  oft2  the  bottom,  and  a  light  hand 
on  the  line.  A  gentle  wriggle,  a  twitch,  and  you  have 
him  ;  haul  him  in  steadily.  Up  he  comes,  a  four-pound- 
er, tossing  and  flopping  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 
Here  comes  a  great  crab,  holding  on  to  the  bait  grimly, 
and  suffering  you  to  catch  him  by  one  of  his  lower  legs 
and  toss  him  in.  Now  for  a  sea-perch  ;  what  a  splendid 
color  ! — bands  of  bright  scarlet  scales,  interlaced  with 
silver.  But  what  is  this  ?  A  stream  of  water  flows 
from  the  fish's  mouth,  and  in  it  come  out  five  or  six 
little  ones,  the  image  of  their  parent.  I  wonder  if  it 
is  true  (and  I  think  it  is)  that  the  little  ones  take  refuge 
inside  their  parent  in  any  time  of  need  ?  The  fishermen 
on  this  coast  call  this  the  "squaw-fish,"  from  this  shel- 
tering, maternal  instinct. 

But  we  have  been  here  long  enough ;  the  water  is 
too  deep,  the  fish  have  gone  off  the  feed,  and  we  shall 
have  to  beat  back,  lucky  if  we  do  in  two  hours  the  dis- 
tance we  ran  in  half  an  hour  on  our  way. 

The  tide  has  run  nearly  out  this  evening :  a  good 
chance  for  some  rock-oysters.  Get  your  axe  and  come 
along.  Where  ?  Along  the  coast  toward  Foulweather  ; 
we  shall  find  those  long  reefs  almost  bare.  We  climb 
over  the  big  reef  on  the  north  head  of  the  harbor,  under 
the  lighthouse  hill,  and  wind  in  and  out  on  the  hard 
Band  among  the  rough  rocks,  all  crusted  over  their 
sides  with  tiny  barnacles.  There  is  little  kelp  or  sea- 
weed here.  The  surf  beats  too  powerfully  in  this 


86  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

recess,  away  from  the  shelter  of  the  great  outer 
reef. 

See  that  group  of  Indian  women  and  children  away 
out  there,  barelegged,  digging  with  their  axes  in  the 
rock.  They  are  after  the  rock-oysters  too. 

Now  is  our  chance.  Jump  on  to  that  rock  before 
the  next  wave  comes  in,  and  climb  on  to  the  reef  beyond 
it  and  get  out  to  low-water  mark.  Here  we  are.  Do 
you  see  that  crevice  ?  Chip  in  and  wrench  the  piece  oS  ; 
the  rock  is  soft  enough  sandstone  to  cut  with  that 
blunt  old  axe.  Here  is  the  spoil — soft  mollusks,  are  they 
not,  and  not  pretty  to  look  at  ?  But  wait  for  the  soup 
at  dinner  to-morrow  before  you  pronounce  on  them. 
And  we  dig,  and  then  venture  farther  out  and  farther, 
till  the  turn  of  the  water  warns  us  to  get  back. 

The  evening  is  closing  in  ;  the  sun  has  set,  leaving 
a  hot,  red  glow,  where  his  copper  disk  has  just  sunk 
beyond  the  Pacific  horizon  ;  and  the  eye  wanders  out 
from  the  infant  waves,  at  foot  just  tinged  with  red,  and 
reflecting  the  light  as  they  move  up  in  turn  to  catch  it, 
to  the  blue  and  still  darker  blue  water  beyond,  out  to 
the  sharp  indigo  line  where  sky  and  water  meet. 

No  land  between  us  and  the  Eastern  world ;  the 
mind  can  hardly  grasp  the  idea  of  the  vast  stretch  of 
sea  across  which  this  new  world  reaches  forth  to  join 
hands  with  old  China  and  Japan. 

Before  we  go  to  bed,  step  for  a  moment  into  the 
quaint  general  store  all  but  adjoining  the  hotel.  What 
a  medley !  Flour  and  axes ;  bacon  and  needles  and 
thread  ;  fishing-lines  and  bullock-hides  ;  writing-paper 
and  beaver-traps ;  milk-pails  and  castor-oil ;  tobacco 
in  plenty,  and  skins ;  and  a  smell  compounded  of  all 
these  and  more,  but  chiefly  the  product  of  that  batch 


SEA-OTTERS.  87 

of  skins  hanging  from  that  big  nail  in  front  of  you, 
and  lying  piled  on  the  bench  by  your  side.  Take  them 
down,  and  turn  them  over ;  Bush  won't  mind.  And 
we  shake  hands  with  the  proprietor,  coming  from  the 
darkness  at  the  back.  He  has  borne  an  honorable  limp 
ever  since  the  war,  and  has  never  yet  quite  recovered 
from  illness  and  wounds.  He  swears  by  Newport  as 
the  best,  and  healthiest,  and  most  promising  place  in 
the  world.  "  Say,"  he  whispers  in  our  ear,  "got  a  sea- 
otter  skin  to-day  1 "  "  Where  did  you  get  it.  Bush,  and 
who  from,  and  how  much  did  you  have  to  pay  for  it  ?  " 
"Got  it  from  the  Indians,"  he  says;  "they  shot  it 
away  up  by  Salmon  Eiver,  beyond  Foulweather,  and 
had  to  give  more  dollars  for  it  than  I  care  to  say." 
"Where  did  they  get  it  ?"  "Where  they  always  do, 
away  out  in  the  kelp  among  the  surf."  "Don't  they 
ever  come  to  land?"  "No,"  he  answers,  "they  live, 
and  sleep,'  and  breed  out  in  the  kelp.  But  if  you  want 
to  know  all  about  them,  why  don't  you  ask  Charlie 
here  ?  He  has  been  trading  this  summer,  and  last  winter 
and  spring,  up  by  Gray's-  Inlet  in  Washington  Territory, 
where  they  are  plenty."  So  saying,  he  calls  up  the 
captain  of  the  steam-schooner  lying  at  her  moorings 
by  the  quay. 

From  this  man,  and  from  hunters  and  Indians  all 
along  the  coast,  I  have  gathered  many  a  tale  of  the 
habits  of  the  sea-otter,  and  of  the  fate  of  those  that 
have  been  killed ;  for  the  rarity  of  the  beast,  and  the 
beauty  and  value  of  its  skin,  interest  these  men,  both 
from  their  hunters'  instinct  and  from  the  mere  money 
business  of  it.  I  know  also  that  scientific  naturalists 
desire  all  the  facts  they  can  get,  that  such  facts  may  be 
placed  on  record  before  this  connecting  link  between 


88  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  seals  and  the  otters  perishes  from  the  earth.  I  be- 
lieve that  the  sea-otter  (Enliydra  marina)  -is  only 
met  with  on  this  north  Pacific  coast,  along  which 
it  is  gradually  being  driven  northward  by  constant 
hunting.  Thirty  years  ago  they  were  common  along 
the  Oregon  sea-line  ;  now  the  killing  of  a  single  speci- 
men is  noted  in  the  newspapers  ;  and  hardly  more  than 
one  a  year  is  generally  met  along  the  coast.  They  in- 
habit the  belt  of  tangle  and  kelp,  which  is  found  a  few 
hundred  yards  from  the  beach,  beyond  the  shore-line  of 
sand  or  rock.  They  are  never  seen  ashore,  or  even  on 
isolated  rocks ;  when  the  sea  is  warm  and  still,  they 
live  much  on  the  surface,  playing  in  the  weed ;  some- 
times, supporting  their  fore-feet  on  the  thickest  part  of 
the  wavy  mass,  they  raise  their  head  and  shoulders  above 
the  weed,  and  gaze  around.  Parents  and  children  live 
together  in  the  weed ;  I  have  not  heard  of  more  than 
two  young  ones  being  seen  in  the  family  group.  The 
skeleton  is  about  four  feet  long :  the  fore-paws  are 
short,  strong,  and  webbed;  almost  in  the  same  pro- 
portions as  a  mole's  ;  the  hinder  extremities  are  flap- 
pers, like  the  seal's.  The  hide  is  twice  the  size  of  the 
common  otter's  ;  the  fur  the  most  beautiful,  soft, 
thick,  and  glossy  in  the  world — dark-brown  outside, 
and  almost  yellow  beneath,  like  the  seal's.  They  are 
sometimes  shot  from  a  steam-schooner,  like  my  friend's, 
lying-to  at  a  safe  distance,  but  much  more  commonly 
from  the  shore.  Along  the  coast  of  Gray's  Inlet  several 
hunters  make  a  regular  business  of  it.  Quite  high 
watch-towers  of  timber  are  built  just  above  high- water 
mark,  and  on  these  the  hunter  climbs  with  his  long- 
range  rifle,  and  watches.  He  provides  a  man  on  horse- 
back to  follow  any  otter  he  may  be  fortunate  enough  to 


COMMON  OTTER.    MINK.  89 

kill,  up  or  down  the  coast,  and  take  possession  of  it 
when  thrown  up  on  the  beach  by  the  tide.  These  men 
seem  to  prefer  the  Sharp  rifle  for  accuracy  of  long- 
range  fire.  That  they  are  no  mean  proficients  may  be 
judged  when  I  mention  that  one  hunter  killed  upward 
of  sixty  last  year ;  the  skins,  or  most  of  them,  my 
friend  the  captain  bought,  at  prices,  varying  with  size 
and  condition,  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  dollars 
each.  I  am  told  that  about  August  the  young  ones  are 
seen  in  company  with  their  parents  ;  but  that  the  otters 
may  be  met  with  at  almost  any  time  in  the  year  when 
the  sea  is  calm  enough  for  them  to  be  marked  among 
the  tangle. 

The  common  otter  (Lutra  Californica)  abounds  in 
the  tidal  portions  of  the  rivers  along  this  coast.  Two 
Indians,  whom  I  know,  shot  six  in  an  hour  or  two 
among  the  rocks  bordering  a  little  cove  some  eight 
miles  north  of  the  Yaquina,  into  which  a  little  river 
empties  itself.  The  skins  are  not  quite  so  large  as 
those  of  the  English  otter,  but  the  fur  is  valuable. 
The  mink  (Putorius  visori)  resembles  the  polecat,  but 
is  nearly  twice  as  large,  with  nearly  black  fur  ;  it  fre- 
quents the  borders  of  the  streams,  and  takes  to  the 
water  with  the  greatest  readiness.  We  have  rabbits 
in  Oregon  (Lepus  Washingtonii)  not  much  more  than 
half  the  size  of  the  common  rabbit  of  Europe,  but 
similar  in  habits  and  place  of  residence.  It  is  on  these 
that  the  mink  chiefly  preys.  I  was  walking  my  horse 
along  a  quiet  stretch  of  sandy  road,  between  thick 
bushes,  returning  from  the  Yaquina  one  day  in  sum- 
mer, when  a  rabbit  darted  out  before  my  horse  and 
down  the  road  for  a  hundred  yards  as  hard  as  he 
could  go ;  then  into  the  bushes,  then  back  into  the 


90  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

road,  and  up  the  other  side,  close  to  me,  evidently 
in  the  greatest  fear.  I  stopped  to  see.  Presently,  a 
mink  came  out  where  poor  Bunny  first  appeared — 
nose  to  the  ground,  and  hunting  like  a  ferret.  He 
followed  the  rabbit's  track  step  by  step  down  the  road, 
into  the  bushes,  back  again  close  to  me,  then  into 
the  brush  ;  and  then  out  came  poor  rabbit  again,  the 
heart  gone  out  of  him.  Stopping  an  instant,  then 
going  on  a  few  steps,  stopping  again,  and  at  last, 
trembling,  he  bunched  himself  into  his  smallest  com- 
pass in  the  middle  of  the  road,  and  there  awaited  his 
fate.  Not  losing  one  twist  or  turn,  patient,  fierce,  in- 
exorable, the  enemy  followed,  not  raising  his  nose  from 
the  trail  till  he  was  almost  on  his  prey.  Then  a  quick 
bound  ;  the  rabbit  was  seized  by  the  head,  almost  with- 
out a  struggle,  and  dragged  nearly  unresisting  into  the 
bushes  down  toward  the  river's  edge,  while  I  passed  on, 
musing  on  the  points  of  resemblance  between  cousins 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  world.  Fortunately,  these 
rabbits  are  very  scarce.  They  are  hardly  seen  in  the 
valley  ;  they  live  solely  in  the  woods,  never  in  or  about 
the  cultivated  ground. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Birds  in  Oregon — Lark — Quail — Grouse — Buffed  grouse — "Wild-geese — Ma- 
noauvres  in  the  air— Wild-ducks— Mallard— Teal— Pintail— Wheat- 
duck — Black  duck — Wood-duck — Snipe — Flight-shooting — Stewart' s 
Slough  —  Bitterns  —  Eagles — Hawks— Homed  owls — Woodpeckers — 
Blue-jays — Canaries — The  canary  that  had  seen  the  world — Blue- 
birds— Bullfinches — Snow-bunting — Humming-birds  at  home. 

I  HAYE  read  comments  on  the  scarcity  of  birds  in 
America.  This  may  be  true  in  some  parts ;  here,  in 
Oregon,  we  have  abundance,  except  of  singing-birds. 
Of  these  last  the  meadow-lark  is  almost  the  sole  exam- 
ple ;  and  his  song,  in  its  fragmentary  notes  and  minor 
key,  does  not  even  remind  one  distantly  of  his  English 
cousin,  who  always  seems  to  express  by  his  gush  of  com- 
plete and  perfect  melody  the  joy  that  fills  his  being  : 

"...  In  a  half  sleep  we  dream, 
And  dreaming  hear  thee  still,  0  singing  lark ! 
That  singest  like  an  angel  in  the  clouds." 

The  quail  (Oreortyx  pictus)  has  one  long,  sweet 
whistle,  with  the  peculiarity  that  it  is  almost  impossi- 
ble to  follow  up  and  find  the  bird  by  his  note  ;  it  sounds 
so  close  that  you  expect  the  bird  is  standing  on  the  near- 
est log,  but  you  look  in  vain  ;  then  it  calls  you  from  a 
hundred  yards  off,  among  the  brush ;  again  from  the 
other  side,  and  you  try  to  drive  him  out  of  the  left- 
hand  thicket ;  but  all  the  while  your  dog  is  working 
in  the  wood  twenty  yards  ahead.  You  turn  your  head 


92  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

just  in  time  to  see  a  dark-brown  bird  flit  like  a  flash 
across  the  road  and  disappear. 

In  the  shooting-season  the  quail  is  one  of  the  hard- 
est birds  to  kill.  They  run  in  front  of  the  dog  in  the 
brushwood  with  the  greatest  speed,  then  rise  and  fly  for 
fifty  or  a  hundred  yards  like  lightning,  and  then  take 
to  their  heels  again. 

In  harvest- time  the  grouse  (Tetrao  olscurus),  here 
called  the  partridge,  come  down  from  the  fir-woods  to 
the  grain-fields  and  give  good  sport.  They  frequent 
the  corners  of  the  fields,  nearest  to  the  brush,  and  as 
the  brood  rise,  ten  or  a  dozen  in  number,  and  wing 
quickly  across  to  shelter  in  the  wood,  it  reminds  one  of 
old  times  and  of  partridge-shooting  in  Norfolk  or  Suf- 
folk ten  years  ago. 

When  the  grain  is  cleared  off,  the  grouse  keep  to  the 
slips  and  corners  of  brush  nearest  to  the  field  for  some 
weeks.  As  the  season  advances,  they  take  to  the  fir- 
woods  again,  and  lose  their  interest  to  the  sportsmen  by 
becoming  in  the  first  place  almost  impossible  to  find, 
and  next  worthless  for  the  table  from  their  turpentine 
taste.  After  the  grouse  have  left  the  harvest-fields  and 
got  back  into  the  woods,  the  shot-gun  sportsman  must 
be  quick  indeed  to  shoot  as  the  bird  rises  and  makes  for 
the  nearest  tall  fir.  There  he  perches  and  defies  you. 
The  rifle-shot  waits  till  the  bird  has  taken  up  its  place 
on  the  bough  and  peers  over  to  look  after  the  dog  ;  then 
he  shoots  and  often  kills,  though  the  head  and  neck  of 
a  grouse  thirty  or  forty  yards  off  is  not  a  very  big  mark. 

The  ruffed  grouse  (Bonassa  SaMnensis),  here  called 
the  pheasant,  is  a  fourth  larger  than  the  common  grouso, 
with  beautiful  bright-brown  plumage,  dashed  with  yel- 
low, and  a  spreading  tail.  He  frequents  the  oak-grubs 


WILD-GEESE.  93 

and  scattering  brush  of  the  foot-hills,  and  is  found  all 
through  the  less  dense  portions  of  the  woods  of  the 
Coast  Eange.  He  gives  good  sport,  rising  to  the  dog 
and  giving  a  longer  flight,  and  offering  the  sportsman  a 
fairer  chance. 

As  soon  as  the  first  half  of  October  has  passed  by, 
the  cry  of  the  wild-geese  is  heard  far  away  in  the  sky, 
and  their  V-shaped  companies  are  seen  winging  their 
southward  course.  These  first  advance-guards  do  not 
stay,  and  scarcely  ever  descend  low  enough  to  tempt 
even  the  most  sanguine  shot.  But  in  a  week  or  so  the 
main  army  arrives.  Following  up  the  general  course 
of  the  Willamette  Eiver,  they  betake  themselves  to  the 
sand-  and  gravel-bars  of  the  river  to  spend  the  night, 
leaving  in  the  early  morning  for  the  bare  harvest-fields, 
where,  after  a  vast  amount  of  debate  and  consideration, 
and  many  long,  circling  flights,  they  descend  to  feed. 
Now  every  kind  of  firearms  sees  the  light,  and  the  gun- 
maker  of  the  town  begins  to  reap  his  harvest. 

As  you  ride  along  the  country  roads  in  the  valley, 
you  see  a  lurking  form  behind  almost  every  fence.  It 
is  a  kind  of  sport  exactly  suiting  the  average  Oregonian, 
who  likes  his  game  to  come  to  him,  and  is  great  at  watch- 
ing for  it. 

Following  with  your  eye  the  line  of  timber  that  be- 
tokens the  river's  course,  you  see  six  or  seven  great  flocks 
of  geese  (Bernicla  Canadensis)  on  the  wing  at  once ; 
some  in  the  far  distance,  mere  specks  in  the  air,  others 
near  enough  for  you  to  overhear  their  conversation, 
which  goes  on  continually.  However  confused  the 
crowd  that  rises  from  the  river,  it  is  but  a  few  seconds 
until  order  is  taken.  One  flies  to  the  head  to  guide  the 
band,  others  take  places  on  either  side  behind  him  ;  regu- 


94  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

lar  distances  are  kept,  leaving  just  enough  room  for  free 
motion,  but  no  more.  Inside  the  head  of  the  V,  and 
generally  on  its  left  side,  fly  two  or  three  geese  in  a 
little  independent  group.  I  think  it  is  from  these  that 
the  officer  appears  in  turn  to  lead  the  van. 

How  many  times  have  I  watched  their  evolutions 
with  delight ! — all  the  keener  that  the  band  was  coming 
my  way  ;  that  the  quick,  regular  beats  of  the  wings  had 
nearly  stopped,  and  the  spread  pinions  showed  they 
were  about  alighting  in  the  very  field  under  the  snake- 
fence  of  which  I  crouched,  double-barrel  in  hand. 

The  voices  grow  louder ;  the  conversation  and  debate 
is  perfectly  confusing  ;  they  are  near  enough  for  you  to 
note  the  outstretched  necks  and  quick  eyes  glancing  from 
side  to  side ;  the  blue-gray  colors  on  the  wings,  with  the 
black  bars,  are  plain.  Waiting  till  they  have  passed  over, 
some  thirty  yards  to  the  right — for  it  is  of  no  avail  to 
shoot  at  them  coming  to  you  (the  thick  feathers  turn 
the  shot) — here  go  two  barrels  at  the  nearest  birds. 
What  a  commotion  !  There  is  a  perfect  uproar  of  voices 
all  declaiming  at  once,  and  away  they  scatter  as  hard  as 
they  can,  resuming  regular  order  in  a  hundred  yards, 
but  leaving  one  poor  bird  flapping  on  the  ground.  My 
dog  runs  to  pick  him  up,  but  can't  make  out  the  big 
bird,  and  comes  inquiringly  back  to  know  what  on  earth 
I  mean  by  shooting  at  birds  he  surely  has  seen — "  Yes, 
about  the  home-pond,  master — what  are  you  about  ?  " 

The  geese  are  sorely  destructive  to  the  autumn-sown 
wheat ;  the  farmer  welcomes  the  sportsman  from  selfish 
motives,  as  well  as  from  his  usual  hospitality,  when  he 
sees  him,  gun  in  hand. 

The  wild-geese  are  nearly  all  of  one  variety  (Bernicla 
Canadensis)  ;  a  few  white  ones  (Anser  hyperboreus)  ap- 


FLIGHT-SHOOTING.  95 

pear  now  and  then,  prominent  among  their  gray  breth- 
ren by  their  snowy  plumage.  Wild-ducks  come  next, 
and  by  the  end  of  the  first  week  of  November  the  sports- 
man's carnival  is  in  full  swing.  First  come  the  mallard 
and  his  mate  (Anas  boschus),  in  small  bands  ;  next  fol- 
low the  whistling  and  the  common  teal  (Querquedula 
cyanoptera  and  Nettion  Carolinensis) ;  then  the  pintail 
(Dafila  acuta)  in  great  bands  ;  following  these,  the  wheat- 
duck,  or  gad  wall  (Chaulelasmus  streperus),  in  multi- 
tudes ;  then,  at  a  short  interval,  the  redhead  (Fuligula 
Athya  Americana)  and  the  black  duck  (Fulix  a  finis). 
These  stay  with  us  all  the  winter,  as  do  also  the  wood- 
duck  (Dix  sponsor),  and  until  the  crocuses  cover  the 
wild  ground  once  again.  We  have  the  snipe  (  Gallinago 
Wilsonii)  in  our  marsh-lands,  but  not  in  large  numbers, 
and  one  specimen  of  the  great  solitary  snipe  has  been 
killed. 

The  snipe  have  a  curious  instinct  for  knowing  ex- 
actly how  many  one  piece  of  marsh  will  support.  Near 
this  house  is  a  wet  corner,  fed  by  springs  and  also  by 
ditches.  The  extent  is  about  an  acre ;  it  is  covered 
with  rose-bushes  and  alder-shoots,  and  with  rushes.  In 
this  are  usually  three  snipe,  never  more.  Several  times 
each  winter  we  have  cleared  the  three  out,  but  in  a  week 
or  so  successors  fill  their  places. 

Our  favorite  sport  in  winter  is  "flight-shooting" — 
killing  the  geese  and  ducks  as  they  fly  round  the  swamps 
at  evening,  preparing  to  settle  for  their  night's  feed. 
This  comes  in  after  the  day's  work  is  pretty  nearly  done. 
Mounting  our  ponies  about  four  o'clock,  we  canter  off 
to  a  big  swamp  about  three  miles  off.  Through  this 
flows  a  little  stream,  whose  water  swells  with  the  winter 
rains  into  two  little  lakes.  Long  grass  and  sedges  cover 
5 


96  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  ground,  and  a  good  many  patches  of  reeds  give 
shelter. 

Arriving  just  as  the  sun  is  setting  behind  the  moun- 
tain south  of  Mary's  Peak,  his  departing  rays  strike  in 
brilliant  red  and  yellow  light  along  the  surface  of  the 
pools,  filling  the  valley  with  quivering,  purple  haze. 
We  post  ourselves  at  long  intervals  along  the  marsh, 
crouching  while  the  light  lasts,  among  the  reeds.  Just 
as  the  red  light  fades  away,  a  group  of  black  specks 
is  seen  against  the  sky,  rising  from  the  fir-timber  that 
bounds  the  distant  river.  They  grow  quickly  larger, 
and  presently  the  rapid  beat  of  wings  is  heard,  as  they 
whistle  through  the  air  overhead.  The  first  flight  round 
is  high  up  in  the  sky,  as  they  take  a  general  view. 
Circling  at  the  far  end  of  the  swamp,  back  they  come, 
this  time  nearer  to  the  ground.  Just  as  you  are  debat- 
ing if  you  dare  risk  the  shot,  whish  !  whish  !  comes  the 
big  band  of  teal  close  behind  you,  dashing  by  with  a 
swoop  worthy  of  the  swiftest  swallow,  and  defying  all 
but  a  chance  shot  into  the  thick  of  them.  By  this  time 
the  big  ducks  are  past,  your  chance  at  them  is  gone, 
and  you  hear  in  a  second  or  two  the  ban::  !  hang !  from 
lower  down  the  swamp,  telling  of  one  of  your  comrades' 
luck.  Here  come  some  more — right,  left,  overhead, 
behind — till  an  unlucky  cartridge  sticks  in  your  gun, 
and  the  scene  falls  on  an  unhappy  wreteh  cursing  his 
luck,  and  devoting  himself,  his  gun,  his  powder,  the 
ducks,  the  swamp,  and  all  Oregon  to  the  infernal  deii  tea  1 

Night  has  fallen  ;  the  pale  gold-and-green  light  has 
faded  from  the  sky  ;  the  dark  purple  line  of  mountains 
has  turned  into  a  solid  mass  of  the  darkest  neutral  tint ; 
one  star  after  another  has  shown  out  overhead,  to  he  re- 
flected in  the  still,  shallow  water  in  which  you  stand. 


EAGLES,   HAWKS,  HORNED   OWLS.  97 

A  low  voice  calls  out  of  the  darkness,  "Time  to  go 
home,  I  suppose."  And  a  quick  canter  along  the  mud- 
dy road,  possible  only  because  the  horses  know  every 
step  of  the  way,  soon  brings  us  home  to  a  late  meal, 
where  all  our  battles  are  fought  over  again,  and  the 
spoils,  in  their  various  beauty,  are  proudly  shown. 
Among  the  game-birds  may  be  included  the  blue  crane, 
which  flies  in  bands  of  from  ten  to  twenty,  high  in  the 
air.  But  it  does  not  remain  here,  and  is  only  killed  by 
chance. 

The  other  day  a  bittern  (Ardeidce  minor)  was  shot 
— a  bird  somewhat  larger  than  the  European  bittern, 
but  exactly  resembling  it  in  all  essentials. 

Eagles  and  hawks  we  have  in  abundance,  and  of  all 
sizes.  The  former  are  destructive  to  the  young  lambs 
even  in  the  valley.  How  bold  they  are,  too  !  One  flew 
into  a  bush  the  other  day  as  I  rode  across  a  wide  past- 
ure, and  watched  me  as  I  came  close  by  him,  never 
taking  to  flight,  though  I  passed  within  twenty  yards 
of  him — near  enough  to  note  the  defiant,  proud  ex- 
pression of  his  great  black  eye.  Last  summer  we  lost 
chicken  after  chicken.  I  could  not  make  out  the  rob- 
ber, having  taken  precautions  against  rats,  et  id  genus 
omne.  One  night,  about  ten  o'clock,  our  English  ser- 
vant burst  into  the  sitting-room  with — "  Sir,  sir,  bring 
your  gun  ;  here's  a  heagle  come  down  on  to  the  roof  of 
the  barn  ! "  One  of  us  ran  out  with  a  gun,  and  made 
out  a  big  bird  against  the  starlit  sky.  A  shot,  and  down 
it  came  on  the  roof  of  the  stable,  making  the  horses 
jump  and  rattle  their  halter-blocks.  It  turned  out  to 
be  a  splendid  specimen  of  the  great  horned  owl.  After 
his  death  the  depredations  among  the  chickens  ceased 
for  the  time.  Very  often  a  pair  of  owls,  just  like  the 


98  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

English  barn-owl,  are  seen  beating  the  swampy  ground, 
I  suppose  after  rats  ;  quartering  the  ground,  and  exam- 
ining every  sedgy  patch  like  a  setter-dog. 

Two  kinds  of  woodpeckers  are  common  ;  the  smaller 
sort  abounds  in  the  burned  timber,  and  again  and  again 
in  the  course  of  the  day's  ride  you  hear  the  tap,  tap, 
and  see  the  little  fellow  propping  himself  against  the 
black  trunk  with  his  strong  tail.  The  larger  wood- 
pecker is  a  beautiful  bird,  with  a  bright  brown-and-gray 
speckled  and  barred  chest,  and  a  scarlet  head  and  top- 
knot. These  birds  are  eagerly  sought  by  the  Indians, 
who  adorn  themselves  with  the  red  feathers,  and  use 
them  also  as  currency  among  themselves  in  various  small 
transactions. 

The  blue- jays  are  as  noisy  in  our  woods  as  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  and  as  inquisitive  and  impertinent. 

In  summer  we  have  flights  of  little  yellow-birds  just 
like  canaries.  One  of  my  boys  brought  his  pet  canary 
from  England  in  a  little  cage.  He  cared  for  and  tended 
it  all  the  long  journey,  and  until  we  were  on  board  the 
steamer  coming  up  the  "Willamette.  In  the  course  of 
the  morning  he  thought  he  would  clean  out  his  bird's 
cage.  The  open  door  was  too  strong  a  temptation. 
Out  slipped  the  captive,  and,  after  a  short  flight  or 
two  in  the  cabin,  away  he  went  into  the  outer  air  and 
perched  on  the  upper  rail  of  the  pilot-house.  After  a 
moment  he  caught  sight  of  a  flock  of  little  yellow-birds 
flitting  round  a  big  tree  by  a  farmhouse  on  the  bank. 
Off  flew  the  little  traveler  to  join  them,  and  the  last  we 
saw  of  him  was  that  he  was  joyfully  joining  the  new 
company,  while  his  master  stood  disconsolately  watch- 
ing the  escape  of  his  favorite. 

Flocks  of  little  bluebirds  (Si alia  Mexicana)  frequent 


HUMMING-BIRDS  AT  HOME.  99 

the  town,  the  whole  of  their  plumage  a  bright  metallic 
blue.  Among  them  is  sometimes  seen  the  golden  ori- 
ole (Icterus  Bullockii},  making,  with  his  orange  jacket 
and  black  cap,  a  brilliant  contrast  with  his  blue  com- 
panions. 

Along  the  fences,  and  in  the  clumps  of  bushes  fill- 
ing their  angles,  is  the  favorite  haunt  of  a  pretty  bird 
(Pipilo  Oregonus),  in  plumage  almost  exactly  resem- 
bling the  European  bullfinch ;  like  him  too  in  habit, 
as  he  accompanies  you  along  the  road  in  little,  jerky 
flights. 

"When  the  winter  day  has  closed  in,  and  the  lamps 
are  lighted,  several  times  the  little  snow-bunting  (lunco 
Oregonus)  has  come  tapping  at  the  window,  attracted 
by  the  light,  and  seeking  refuge  in  the  warmth  within 
from  the  rough  wind  and  driving  rain  without.  In 
the  honeysuckle,  which  covers  the  veranda  and  climbs 
over  the  face  of  the  house,  two  sets  of  humming-birds 
(Selasphorus  rufus)  made  their  home.  It  was  pretty 
to  watch  them  as  they  poised  themselves  to  suck  the 
honey,  and  then  darted  off  to  one  flower  after  another 
among  the  beds,  returning  every  instant  to  their  nests, 
close  to  our  heads,  as  we  sat  out  in  the  cool  evening  air. 
We  were  taken  in  several  times  by  the  humming-bird 
moths,  which  imitated  exactly  the  motions  of  the  birds. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Up  to  the  Cascades — Farming  by  happy-go-lucky — The  foot-hills — Sweet 
Home  Valley — Its  name,  and  how  deserved  and  proved — The  road  by 
the  Santiam — Eastward  and  upward — Timber — Lower  Soda  Springs 
— Different  vegetation — Upper  Soda  Springs — Mr.  Keith — Our  re- 
ception— His  home  and  surroundings — Emigrants  on  the  road — The 
emigrant's  dog — Off  to  the  Spokane — Whence  they  came — Where  they 
were  bound — Still  eastward — Fish  Lake — Clear  Lake — Fly-fishing  in 
still  water — The  down  slope  east—  Lava-beds — Bunch-grass — The  val- 
leys in  Eastern  Oregon — Their  products — Wheat-growing  there — 
Cattle-ranchers — Their  home — Their  life — In  the  saddle  and  away — 
Branding-time — Hay  for  the  winter — The  Malheur  reservation — The 
Indians'  outbreak— The  building  of  the  road — When,  how,  and  by 
whom  built — The  opening  of  the  pass— The  history  of  the  road — 
Squatters — The  special  agent  from  Washington^-A  sham  survey. 

AFTER  recovering  from  a  sharp  attack  of  illness  last 
fall,  I  was  sent  away  for  change  of  air.  I  fancied  the 
mountain  air  would  revive  me  speedily  ;  so  we  resolved 
to  travel  up  to  the  Upper  Soda  Springs,  in  the  Cas- 
cades. It  was  two  days'  journey  from  the  valley.  The 
first  twenty  miles  led  us  across  the  rich  valley  portion 
of  Linn  County.  We  had  to  pass  through  the  little 
town  of  Lebanon. 

Near  here  we  saw  an  illustration  of  farming  careless- 
ness that  I  must  mention.  The  harvest  of  1879  was 
marked  by  the  first  recorded  instance  of  rust  attacking 
the  spring-sown  wheat.  The  spring  was  unusually  late, 
and  when  the  rains  ceased,  about  the  25th  of  May,  the 
summer  sun  broke  forth  at  once  with  unclouded  warmth 
and  splendor.  The  lately  sown  grain  sprang  up  in  mar- 


SWEET  HOME  VALLEY.  101 

velous  vigor,  and  the  crop  promised  abundantly  for  the 
farmer,  when,  just  before  the  wheat  hardened  in  the 
ear,  the  rust  seized  it,  the  leaf  took  a  yellow  tinge,  and 
the  grain  shriveled  up.  The  valley  portions  of  Linn, 
Lane,  Marion,  and  Benton  Counties  suffered,  the  first- 
named  the  most  severely. 

In  our  ride  across  the  valley  .we  passed  several  fields 
which  were  standing  abandoned  and  unreaped ;  the 
preparations  for  next  year's  crop  were  in  active  prog- 
ress ;  in  one  great  wheat-field  we  saw  the  farmer,  with  his 
broad-cast  grain-distributor  fixed  in  his  wagon,  sowing 
his  seed  among  the  untouched,  shriveled  crop  !  And 
the  wonder  is  that  the  crop  of  this  year,  all  through 
this  stricken  district,  was  unusually  fine  for  both  qual- 
ity and  quantity  of  wheat. 

I  do  not  know  that  a  stronger  fact  could  be  adduced 
in  proof  of  the  still  wonderful  fertility  of  this  Willa- 
mette Valley  than  that  it  should  be  possible  this  year 
to  reap  a  good  crop,  grown  on  ground  that  was  neither 
reaped,  plowed,  nor  rolled — nothing  done  but  to  cast 
abroad  the  seed  and  harrow  it  lightly  in. 

Soon  after  passing  Lebanon,  eighteen  miles  from 
here,  we  reached  the  foot-hills  of  the  Cascades  ;  round, 
swelling,  sandy  buttes ;  sometimes  covered  with  short 
pasture-grass  ;  generally  bearing  a  growth  of  oak-brush, 
sprinkled  with  firs  of  a  moderate  size. 

We  slept  at  the  first  toll-gate,  at  the  other  side  of 
Sweet  Home  Valley.  This  pretty  vale  deserved  its 
name.  Some  five  or  six  miles  long  by  about  two  in 
width,  there  was  a  good  expanse  of  fertile  bottom- 
land, plowed  and  cultivated ;  all  round  the  hills  rose, 
lightly  timbered  in  part,  affording  pasture  for  the  cat- 
tle. We  were  told  that  the  first  five  settlers  were  bach- 


102  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

elors,  and  called  the  valley  "Sweet  Home"  to  induce 
their  lady-loves  to  follow  them  so  far  into  what  was 
then  a  wilderness.  That  their  invitation  succeeded,  I 
judge  from  the  fact  that  the  valley  has  now  three  hun- 
dred inhabitants ;  that  the  settlement  was  a  permanent 
one,  I  judge  from  the  fact  that  a  neat  schoolhouse,  well 
filled  with  scholars,  is  now  the  chief  ornament  of  the 
valley. 

The  road  followed  on  along  the  course  of  the  San- 
tiam  Kiver,  now  becoming  a  rapid  mountain-stream, 
with  many  a  rock  and  ripple.  By  the  side  of  every 
farmhouse  stood  one  or  two  "fish-poles,"  betokening 
that  the  river  was  of  use  as  well  as  ornament  to  the 
dwellers  by  its  banks. 

The  road  now  led  us  straight  eastward  to  the  moun- 
tains, whose  fir-crowned  summits  frowned  on  us  from 
every  side.  Here  and  there  a  little  valley  nestling 
among  the  hills  had  been  reclaimed  to  the  use  of  man  ; 
and  many  a  neat  little  farm  and  well-grown  orchard, 
with  fenced  grain-fields  and  hay-fields,  witnessing  to 
the  successful  labor  of  the  owner,  smiled  on  us  as  we 
passed. 

On  nearly  all  appeared  the  magic  words  :  "  Hay  and 
oats  sold  here.  Good  accommodation  for  campers " ; 
betokening  that  we  were  on  the  main  road  of  travel, 
and  that  the  farmers  found  a  ready  market  for  their 
produce  at  their  very  door. 

At  one  farm  stood  a  set  of  Fairbanks's  scales,  for 
weighing  and  apportioning  the  wagon-loads  before  un- 
dertaking the  passage  of  the  mountains.  The  ascent 
was  soon  commenced  ;  indeed,  we  had  mounted  several 
hundred  feet  before  we  were  well  aware  of  it,  so  good 
was  the  engineering  of  the  road. 


LOWER  SODA  SPRINGS.  103 

The  timber  grew  larger  on  either  side  and  ahead ; 
no  burned  timber  here,  but  massive,  heavy  growths,  ex- 
tending mile  after  mile,  of  spruce,  hemlock,  and  pine, 
interspersed  with  many  a  cedar,  tall,  straight,  and  strong. 
Very  little  undergrowth  of  brush ;  a  good  deal  of 
brake-fern  and  of  grass  ;  and  by  the  sides  and  along 
the  edges  of  the  little  gullies  and  canons  that  we 
crossed,  the  large  maidenhair-fern  grew  in  beautiful 
profusion.  We  were  never  far  from  the  Santiam,  and 
now  and  again  the  roar  and  rush  of  water  told  us  of 
little  falls  and  rapids  in  the  stream.  Always  ascending, 
here  with  a  long,  straight  stretch  of  grading  cut  into 
the  hill-side,  there  with  a  winding  course  to  cheat  the 
hill  that  rose  to  bar  our  road ;  down  a  short  distance, 
then  along  the  little  valley  with  its  farm,  then  up  again, 
till  we  gained  the  brow  overlooking  the  settlement  at 
the  Lower  Soda  Springs.  The  little  wooden  houses, 
with  galleries  overhanging  the  rocky  stream  ;  the  heavy 
fir- woods  clothing  the  hill-sides  ;  the  abundant  ferns  and 
creeping  plants  growing  down  to  the  water's  edge  ;  the 
abrupt  outlines  of  the  rocks  in  places  too  steep  for 
vegetation — all  reminded  us  of  Norway,  and  of  happy 
tours  in  bygone  years.  And  the  welcome  we  received 
from  the  hospitable  innkeepers  served  to  strengthen  the 
remembrance. 

"We  went  down  to  drink  at  the  soda-springs.  Long, 
inclined  ledges  of  white  and  gray  rocks  lead  down  to 
the  river's  edge  ;  there,  within  a  few  feet  of  the  sweet, 
running  water,  so  near  that  the  rise  of  one  foot  in  actual 
level  of  the  stream  would  overrun  the  spring,  we  found 
the  alkaline  spring,  welling  out  from  a  hole  six  inches 
across  in  one  of  the  wide  ledges  of  gray  rock.  I  never 
yet  tasted  a  mineral  water  that  was  nice,  and  it  seems 


104  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

as  if  the  medical  value  of  a  spring  varied  exactly  with 
its  nastiness ;  so  judged,  I  should  say  that  the  Lower 
Soda  Springs  were  very  valuable.  A  few  hours  more, 
over  broken  country,  which  grew  wilder  as  we  ad- 
vanced, brought  us  in  twelve  miles'  travel  to  our  desti- 
nation. The  last  few  miles  entered  a  burned  timber- 
patch,  where  the  black  trunks  either  towered  high  into 
the  air  or  lay  supine,  rotting  by  degrees  into  yellow 
mold.  The  vegetation  had  a  different  aspect  from  the 
Coast  Eange ;  a  great  feature  in  the  brush  was  the 
abundance  of  elder-bushes,  then  covered  with  blue-gray 
berries,  and  the  nourishing  dogwood  -  trees,  whose 
branches  bore  a  quantity  of  large,  white  flowers  and 
also  of  scarlet  fruit.  We  had  crossed  the  Santiam  sev- 
eral times,  here  by  timber  bridges,  there  by  fords. 

The  excellence  of  the  road,  its  freedom  from  rocks 
and  "chuck-holes,"  alike  surprised  and  pleased  us,  and 
my  poor  bones  would  have  told  a  sad  tale  if  all  the 
stories  of  "mere  wagon-track"  had  been  founded  in 
even  the  semblance  of  fact. 

We  mounted  the  little  rise  which  brought  us  in 
sight  of  Upper  Soda  Springs.  On  the  left  of  the  road 
stood  a  barn  ;  on  the  right,  three  little  detached  wooden 
huts,  from  one  of  which  the  thin,  blue  smoke  was  rising 
and  betokened  the  habitation  of  the  owner.  A  thin, 
bent,  elderly  man  issued  from  the  barn  with  a  big  bun- 
dle of  hay  in  his  arms,  as  we  drove  up,  and  came  across 
to  meet  us.  "Mr.  Keith  ?"  I  asked.  "I  have  a  loi- 
ter of  introduction  from  a  friend  of  yours,  and  we 
wish  to  stay  with  you  for  a  week  or  ten  days."  "You 
read  it  to  me,"  was  the  answer  ;  "I  haven't  got  my  spec- 
tacles." So  I  read  it.  "Well,  sir,  can  we  stay?" 
"I  don't  mind  men,  but  I  can't  abear  women,"  was  the 


MB.  KEITH.  105 

somewhat  forbidding  response,  as  my  wife  smiled  across 
from  the  back  of  the  carriage.  "I  don't  think  you 
need  mind  my  wife,  Mr.  Keith  ;  she  won't  give  you  any 
extra  trouble."  "I  don't  mind  cooking  for  men — they 
don't  know  any  better ;  but,  as  for  the  women,  they  are 
always  thinking  how  much  better  they  could  do  it." 
However,  we  settled  it  amicably,  and  took  possession  of 
the  third  little  hut,  where  the  bundle  of  hay  was  soon 
shaken  out  on  to  the  two  standing  bed-places  on  either 
side.  We  made  great  friends  with  the  old  gentleman, 
whose  roughness  was  all  on  the  outside,  and  who  slew 
his  chickens,  and  cooked  his  cabbages,  and  stewed  his 
dried  plums  and  apples  for  us  without  stint,  and  in  a 
manner  that  no  woman  could  object  to. 

The  situation  was  most  romantic — just  under  the 
shadow  of  a  huge  body  of  rugged  rocks  on  one  side, 
while  on  the  other  Mr.  Keith's  little  fields,  from  which 
all  the  dogwood  and  elderberry  bushes  had  not  been 
grubbed  out,  led  to  the  edge  of  the  bank  overhanging 
the  Santiam.  The  river  here  is  a  beautiful  stream, 
rocky  and  broken,  deep  and  shallow,  by  turns,  with  a 
trout  under  every  stone. 

Mr.  Keith's  garden  was  a  few  steps  from  the  house, 
in  a  little  bottom  ;  although  so  high  up  above  sea-level 
(about  twenty-five  hundred  feet,  I  believe),  the  vege- 
tables were  as  fine  as  I  ever  saw,  and  the  grape-vines, 
trained  over  a  trellis  in  front  of  the  house,  were  loaded 
with  fruit. 

Here,  among  the  hills,  trout-rod  for  me  and  sketch- 
book and  water-colors  for  my  wife,  we  spent  ten  happy 
days.  There  was  no  lack  of  company,  for,  besides  our 
old  host,  all  the  passers-by  stopped  at  the  house.  Hard- 
ly a  day  went,  even  at  that  late  period  of  the  season, 


106  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

without  from  six  to  ten  wagons  passing,  on  their  way 
from  Western  and  Southern  Oregon  to  the  wide  plains 
and  fertile  valleys  of  Eastern  Oregon  and  Washington 
Territory. 

The  self-reliance,  the  absolute  trusting  to  the  future, 
of  all  these  good  people  was  impressive.  The  whole 
family  were  together  :  beds,  chairs,  stove,  blankets, 
clock,  saucepans,  and  household  stores  were  all  packed 
or  piled  into  the  wagon  ;  underneath  hung  a  box  or 
basket  with  a  couple  of  little  pigs  or  a  dozen  cocks  and 
hens.  A  couple  of  cows  were  driven  along  or  took 
their  parts  as  a  yoke  of  oxen  in  draught ;  a  colt  or  two 
and  a  few  young  cattle  ran  by  the  side,  and  the  family 
dog,  presiding  over  the  cavalcade,  seemed  to  have  more 
of  a  burden  on  his  mind  than  the  human  heads  of  the 
expedition.  Many  stopped  to  camp  for  the  night,  al- 
most all  for  at  least  one  meal,  and  all  without  exception 
to  get  a  drink  from  the  effervescing  soda-spring. 

One  wagon  was  driven  by  a  pleasant-spoken  man  ; 
with  him  were  his  wife  and  a  sick  baby  of  a  year  old. 
They  had  nothing  for  the  baby  but  potatoes  and  flour. 
Their  stores  were  but  scanty.  "Where  are  you  go- 
ing? "said  I.  "To  the  Spokane,  I  guess,"  was  the 
reply.  "Where  do  you  come  from?"  "Well,  I  had 
a  valley-farm,  and  we  were  doing  pretty  well,  but  I 
hadn't  my  health  good,  and  I  thought  we'd  try  the 
Spokane."  "  Do  you  know  where  it  is  you  are  going  ?  " 
"No,  but  they  told  us  to  take  this  road  and  we'd  find 
our  way."  "  Have  you  any  idea  how  far  it  is  ?  "  "  Not 
much  ;  a  hundred  miles  or  two,  isn't  it  ?"  "Put  five 
hundred  or  so  on,  and  you'll  get  there."  "You  don't 
say  so  !  Well,  I  dare  say  we  shall  get  through  all 
right."  "What  do  you  mean  to  do?"  "Well,  I 


OFF  TO   THE  SPOKANE.  107 

haven't  money  enough  to  buy  a  farm,  so  I  shall  just  take 
up  a  place."  "  You  mean  to  homestead,  then  ?"  "I 
guess  so."  "How  many  miles  can  you  make  in  a 
day  ?"  "Not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  with  this  old 
scrub  team."  "  Have  you  thought  that  this  is  the  first 
week  in  October,  and  that  you  can't  expect  to  get  there 
much  before  January  ?  "  "I  guess  not ;  but  I  dare  say 
we  shall  get  on  very  well."  "You  told  me  just  now 
you  had  not  much  money  ;  have  you  thought  how  long 
it  will  last  you,  spending  two  dollars  a  day  on  the 
road  ?"  "No,  I  haven't  rightly  figured  it.  I  knew  we 
shouldn't  have  much  left  when  we  got  there."  "  What 
makes  you  want  to  go  to  the  Spokane  ?  "  "  Well,  I've 
heard  it's  good  land  up  there."  "Isn't  Oregon  good 
enough  for  you  ?"  "I  don't  know  but  what  it  is.  I 
didn't  know  the  place  was  so  far  off."  I  fetched  him  a 
large  scale  map,  and  left  him  to  think  it  over  after 
supper.  They  were  off  in  the  morning  before  we  were 
out,  and  I  have  no  idea  whether  they  reached  the  Spo- 
kane ;  my  only  consolation  was,  that  the  baby  was  the 
better  for  the  care  and  food  it  got  that  night,  and  for 
the  additional  stores  they  carried  away  for  it. 

This  conversation  was,  perhaps,  an  extreme  one  ; 
but  it  is  absolutely  true  to  facts.  All  that  we  talked  to 
were  equally  hopeful,  and  few  much  better  instructed 
as  to  their  course.  Certainly  no  people  in  the  world 
could  be  better  qualified  to  make  a  little  go  far,  to  take 
cheerily  all  the  inevitable  discomforts  of  both  the  long 
journey  and  the  new  home,  and  to  make  the  best  use 
of  every  advantage  they  found  or  made.  Only  a  few 
were  going  to  this  Spokane  country,  away  north  in 
Washington  Territory  ;  the  rest  were  bound  for  Eastern 
Oregon,  which  is  being  settled  up  marvelously  fast, 


108  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

when  the  difficulties  of  getting  there,  and  of  getting 
their  produce  out  from  there,  are  taken  into  account. 

The  stretch  of  burned  timber  country  ended  about 
the  Upper  Soda.  All  round  it,  and  on  from  there 
eastward,  grew  miles  upon  miles  of  magnificent  fir, 
hemlock,  spruce,  and  cedar-trees,  averaging  three  feet 
through,  and,  I  judged,  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
height.  I  measured  several  of  the  dead  trees  on  the 
ground,  which  ran  from  two  hundred  and  twenty  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  the  tops  of  all 
of  them  were  gone. 

A  few  miles  farther  on  eastward  are  Fish  Lake  and 
Clear  Lake.  The  former  merits  its  name  from  the 
abundance  of  trout  from  one  to  three  and  four  pounds 
in  weight.  In  summer  the  water  shrinks  away  to  little 
more  than  a  stream  in  the  middle  of  the  depression 
which  forms  the  lake,  and  a  growth  of  rich,  succulent 
grass  follows  the  subsidence  of  the  waters.  Clear  Lake, 
some  four  miles  off,  is  vastly  different.  It  evidently  oc- 
cupies the  place  of  a  great  and  sudden  depression  of 
timber-covered  country,  for,  looking  down  into  the  deep, 
clear  water,  the  great  firs  are  seen  still  standing  erect  on 
the  bottom,  far,  far  below.  Fly-fishing  on  this  lake  is 
wonderfully  good.  Throw  the  flies  on  to  the  still  water, 
oh  !  so  quietly,  and  there  let  them  lie  motionless ;  in  a 
moment  or  two  a  dim  form  shines  deep  down,  rising  wi  i  h 
a  quick,  vibrating  motion,  and  up  comes  your  friend  : 
with  a  greedy  snatch  he  takes  the  fly,  and  bolts  down- 
ward with  it,  to  be  speedily  checked  and  brought  to  book. 

Soon  begins  the  descent,  much  more  gradual  than 
the  ascent,  and  not  so  prolonged,  since  all  Eastern 
Oregon  is  a  kind  of  plateau,  elevated  from  one  to  two 
thousand  feet  above  sea-level. 


VALLEYS  IN  EASTERN  OREGON.          109 

A  stretch  of  lava-bed  is  soon  reached,  the  acme  of 
desolation,  where  the  road  has  been  painfully  worked 
by  crushing  down  the  rugged  blocks,  or  laboriously 
moving  them  with  levers  from  the  path.  Two  or  three 
miles  carry  us  across,  and  then  the  bunch-grass  country 
begins.  Great  tussocks  of  succulent  feed  for  spring  and 
early  summer,  dried  by  the  hot  sun  into  natural  hay 
for  autumn  and  winter  use,  afford  pasture  for  count- 
less herds  of  cattle.  Even  here  there  are  watercourses 
and  springs  a  few  miles  apart.  The  valleys — namely, 
Des  Chutes,  Crooked  River  Valley,  Ochoco,  Beaver 
Creek,  Grindstone  Creek,  Silver  Creek,  Harney  Lake, 
and  Malheur — stretch  in  a  practically  unbroken  line 
across  the  whole  of  the  remainder  of  Oregon  to  the  east- 
ern boundary  of  Snake  Eiver. 

Take  Crooked  Eiver  Valley  as  a  specimen.  It  varies 
from  one  to  three  miles  in  width,  but  is  bounded,  not 
by  the  steep  and  rugged  hills  we  are  used  to  in  the 
Coast  Range,  but  by  gently  swelling  bluffs,  covered  with 
bunch-grass  to  and  over  their  tops.  The  valley-land  is 
rich  and  fertile,  and  wherever  cultivated  yields  abun- 
dantly in  potatoes,  cereals,  vegetables,  and  small  fruits 
of  all  kinds.  Sixty  and  eighty  bushels  of  oats  to  the 
acre  is  not  an  unusual  crop.  And  tame  grasses  take 
firm  hold  of  the  country  wherever  opportunity  is  given 
them.  The  bunch-grass  slopes,  with  occasional  sage- 
brush scattered  among  the  grass,  are  not  to  be  always 
set  apart  for  such  common  use  as  at  present. 

Precisely  the  same  character  of  land  has  been  plowed 
up  and  put  into  wheat  during  the  last  few  years  round 
Walla  Walla,  just  north  of  the  northeast  corner  of  Ore- 
gon, and  produces  forty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre. 
Indeed,  it  is  from  country  like  this  that  the  great  crops 


110  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

of  Northeastern  Oregon  and  "Washington  Territory  are 
produced ;  crops  yielding  a  magnificent  return,  if  not 
to  the  farmer  whose  enterprise  and  industry  have  served 
to  raise  them,  yet  to  the  recently  formed  transportation 
company  called  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation 
Company,  by  whose  boats  plying  on  the  Columbia  the 
wheat  is  carried  to  Portland  to  be  shipped. 

At  present  these  vast  stretches  of  rolling  hill  and 
dale  are  the  home  of  the  cattle-rancher — a  strange  and 
wild  life.  A  suitable  site  is  fixed  on,  commanding  am- 
ple water  privilege,  with  some  valley-land  near  by  to 
grow  sufficient  hay,  and  to  raise  the  desired  quantity 
of  oats  and  vegetables ;  here  the  house  is  built,  the 
lumber  being  hauled  by  wagons  perhaps  fifty  or  a  hun- 
dred miles  from  the  mill.  The  rancher's  family  con- 
sists  of  his  wife  and  children,  and  possibly  five  or  six 
herdsmen.  While  looking  after  cattle,  these  men  al- 
most live  in  the  saddle.  Horses  abound,  and  form  as 
good  a  source  of  revenue  as  cattle,  in  proportion  to 
the  capital  engaged.  The  Eastern  Oregon  horse  is 
taller  and  bigger-boned  than  the  valley  horse,  but  natu- 
rally his  education  is  not  so  well  attended  to,  and  he 
is  apt  to  be  "mean"  and  to  buck.  Little  recks  his 
rider,  and  after  a  bout  of  bucking,  in  which  the  horse 
has  not  dislodged  the  man,  but  has  shaken  up  every 
bone  in  his  body  till  he  is  sore  all  over  with  the  con- 
stant jar,  as  the  horse  comes  to  the  ground  all  four 
feet  at  once  after  a  mighty  jump,  then  it  is  the  man's 
turn.  Driving  in  the  heavy  Mexican  spurs,  with  their 
rowels  two  or  three  inches  across,  the  rider  starts  wildly 
out,  and  mile  after  mile  the  open  country  is  crossed 
at  a  hand-gallop.  The  herd  is  soon  seen  and  ridden 
round,  and  a  close  lookout  is  kept  to  see  if  any  strag- 


TEE  MALHEUR  RESERVATION.  HI 

glers  have  joined  the  band,  and  if  the  calves  and  year- 
lings are  all  right.  Branding-time  comes  twice  a  year,  in 
spring  and  autumn,  when  the  cattle  of  a  whole  "stretch  " 
of  country  are  driven  together,  separated  according  to 
the  various  ownerships  determined  by  marks  and  brands. 

In  spring  come  in  the  Eastern  buyers,  who  travel 
through  the  country,  collecting  a  huge  drove  of  perhaps 
from  ten  to  twenty  thousand  head.  The  three-year-old 
steers  fetch  about  fifteen  or  seventeen  dollars  a  head ; 
no  wonder  the  ranchers  prosper,  considering  that  the 
cost  from  calfhood  was  only  that  of  herding. 

Some  of  the  provident  ones  collect  one  or  two  hun- 
dred tons  of  natural  hay  against  the  severities  of  win- 
ter. It  may  be  that  for  two  or  three  years  the  hay 
will  stand  unused  ;  then  comes  the  stress.  Deep  snow 
will  cover  the  face  of  the  country  and  lie  for  weeks, 
too  deep  for  the  cattle  to  live,  as  in  ordinary  winters, 
on  the  dry  bunch-grass  protruding  from  the  snow,  or 
easily  reached  by  scratching  a  slight  covering  away. 
Even  an  abundant  store  will  not  save  all,  for  many  of 
the  herd  will  have  taken  refuge  in  distant  valleys,  or 
perhaps  have  retreated  far  off  the  whole  range  in  the 
face  of  the  driving  storm.  And  even  those  that  are 
found  will  move  very  unwillingly  from  any  poor  shelter 
they  may  have  secured  toward  the  life-saving  food. 

There  is  a  large  Indian  reservation  called  the  Mal- 
heur  Eeserve  ;  the  road  crosses  its  southwest  corner. 
These  Indians  are  quiet  enough  now,  but  only  three 
years  ago  there  was  an  outbreak  among  them.  One 
rancher  had  built  a  fine  stone  house,  just  outside  the 
reservation  bounds,  and  there  lived  in  comfort,  sur- 
rounded by  all  the  necessaries  and  many  of  the  luxu- 
ries of  life.  He  had  six  or  eight  thousand  head  of  cat- 


112  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

tie  and  some  three  hundred  horses  in  his  band.  One 
morning  a  friendly  Indian  rode  up  in  haste,  telling  him 
to  get  away,  as  the  hostiles  were  coming  to  kill  them  all. 
Mounting  their  horses,  the  rancher  and  his  wife  took 
to  flight ;  they  looked  back  from  the  hill-top  to  see  the 
flames  and  smoke  rising  from  their  comfortable  home, 
telling  how  narrow  had  been  their  escape.  A  hurried 
ride  of  fifty  miles  took  them  to  safe  refuge ;  and  the 
speedy  repulse  of  the  Indians,  and  their  being  driven 
once  again  within  their  own  boundaries,  enabled  the 
rancher  to  rebuild  his  house,  and  restore  once  more  his 
household  gods. 

This  road  was  built  by  men  who  were  sent  out  from 
Albany,  and  spent  years  in  the  work,  rifles  by  their 
side ;  for  the  country  fourteen  years  ago  was  not  the 
safe  domain  it  has  now  become.  The  first  idea  was  to 
use  the  pass  through  the  Cascades  (which  is  the  lowest 
and  safest  in  Oregon,  so  far  as  I  can  learn),  to  build  a 
road  to  open  the  plains  of  Eastern  Oregon  to  the  Willa- 
mette Valley.  After  a  good  deal  of  the  work  had  been 
accomplished,  a  suggestion  was  made  to  the  owners  of 
the  road  that  if  they  would  undertake  to  extend  it 
clear  across  the  State  to  the  Idaho  boundary,  a  distance 
from  Albany  of  some  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  by 
the  necessary  deviations  from  a  straight  line,  a  land 
grant  might  probably  be  procured  from  Congress  to  aid 
the  work.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  general  policy 
of  granting  the  national  lands  to  corporations  to  aid 
wagon-road  and  railroad  enterprises,  there  may  surely 
be  cases  where  the  effect  is  not  only  to  secure  the  exe- 
cution of  the  work,  but  also  to  encourage  the  settling 
up  of  a  district,  and  the  consequent  increase  of  the 
population  and  wealth  of  a  State. 


BUILDING   OF  THE  ROAD.  113 

Here  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  Eastern  Oregon  prior 
to  1866  :  A  vast  country,  adapted  for  the  gradual  set- 
tlement and  ultimate  habitation  of  a  prosperous  race, 
was  lying  at  the  mercy  of  a  few  roving  bands  of  Ind- 
ians, who  made  the  lives  and  property  of  even  casual 
travelers  their  speculation  and  sport.  What  was  the 
value  then  of  all  that  country  ?  Could  any  purchaser 
for  it  have  been  then  found,  at  even  a  few  cents  an 
acre  ? 

The  projectors  of  the  road  took  their  lives  in  their 
hands  when  they  ventured  forth  to  work.  They  risked 
themselves,  their  horses  and  equipments.  Every  pound 
of  food  consumed  had  to  be  brought  in  wagons  from 
their  starting-point.  As  they  progressed,  their  danger 
and  difficulty  increased  with  every  mile  they  traversed  ; 
and  the  last  section  of  the  road  was  built  by  men  who 
had  suffered  themselves  to  be  snowed  in  and  shut  off 
from  families  and  friends,  and  to  give  up  every  chance 
of  succor  in  distress,  that  the  work  might  not  stand 
still.  And  it  was  no  light  work,  even  judged  by  us 
who  travel  the  road  at  ease,  and  have  hardly  a  passing 
glance  for  the  rocky  grade,  the  deep  cutting,  the  pon- 
derous lava-block,  the  huge  black  trunk.  How  appall- 
ing must  the  undertaking  have  appeared  to  those  who 
had  first  to  face  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  a  moun- 
tain-chain, to  plan  for  and  survey  out  the  most  favor- 
able route  among  heavy  timber  and  rocky  precipice,  be- 
side rushing  waters  and  through  deep  gorges  ;  and  then 
across  those  wide  and  then  silent  plains,  where  the 
timid  antelope  ranged  by  day,  and  the  skulking  wolf  by 
night  made  solitude  hideous  with  his  melancholy  howl ! 
No  roadside  farms  to  welcome  them,  no  little  towns  to 
mark,  as  now,  the  stages  of  their  journey,  but  farther 


114  TWO   YEARS  IN"  OREGON. 

and  farther  into  the  wilderness,  till  four  hundred  miles 
lay  between  the  workers  and  the  valley-homes  they  had 
left  months  before. 

And  this  was  no  wealthy  corporation,  which  has  but 
to  announce  its  readiness  to  receive,  and  dollars  are 
poured  into  its  lap  by  a  public  hungry  for  dividends, 
until  it  has  to  cry,  "  Hold,  enough  ! "  Here  were  no  regi- 
ments of  yellow  workmen,  trained  to  labor  in  many  a 
ditch  and  grade  ;  but  citizens  of  Oregon,  who  desired 
to  build  up  their  State ;  who  believed  the  records  of 
their  fellows  as  to  the  miles  of  country  that  could  be 
forced  to  contribute  their  quota  of  productions  if  but 
the  way  were  opened  in  and  out ;  who,  having  them- 
selves prospered  in  the  sound  and  moderate  way  in 
which  Oregon  encourages  her  children,  were  ready  to 
risk  what  they  had  gained  in  a  cause  they  knew  was 
good — these  men  combined  their  energies  to  the  com- 
mon end.  It  was  an  enterprise  which  roused  and  main- 
tained the  kindly  interest  of  all.  The  working  parties 
in  the  Cascade  Eange  were  followed  up  by  the  teams  of 
those  who  desired  the  first  choice  of  settlement  in  the 
promised  land  beyond. 

By  the  time  the  last  great  log  that  barred  the  pass 
was  reached,  a  long  string  of  wagons  stood  waiting  its 
removal.  While  the  long  saws  were  plied,  and  then  the 
levers  brought,  all  stood  in  expectation  ;  willing  hands 
lent  their  eager  aid  :  the  great  wooden  mass  rolled  sul- 
lenly away,  and  the  tide  of  settlement  poured  through 
the  gap.  Between  that  day  in  1867  and  1880  upward 
of  five  thousand  wagons  have  made  the  journey,  and,  to 
the  honor  of  the  original  locators  be  it  said,  all  with- 
out accident  arising  from  the  road. 

The  first  few  years  all  went  merry  as  a  marriage-bell. 


SQUATTERS.  115 

The  road  naturally  followed  the  fertile  valleys ;  and 
small  blame  to  the  road-makers  if,  having  the  whole 
country  before  them,  they  chose  the  smoothest  and 
cheapest  route.  No  man  will  climb  a  hill  and  cut  his 
way  along  its  side  if  he  can  find  good  level  ground  at 
the  bottom. 

The  road-makers  were  entitled  under  their  congres- 
sional grant  to  alternate  mile-square  sections  in  a  wide 
belt  on  either  side  of  their  road ;  the  intervening  sec- 
tions were,  of  course,  opened  to  settlement  by  the  con- 
struction of  the  road.  The  open-valley  sections  were 
soon  seized  on,  and  a  band  of  settlements  justified,  even 
so  soon,  the  principle  of  the  road-grant. 

But  to  many  men  in  this  world,  and  Oregon  has  her 
share,  the  descriptive  motto  is  not,  "  Labor  is  sweet,  and 
we  have  toiled,"  but  the  antithesis,  "Other  men  have 
labored  :  let  us  enter  into  the  fruits  of  their  labor."  So 
squatters  entered  with  the  legitimate  settler,  or  close  011 
his  heels,  and  took  possession  of  many  a  section  of  the 
road  company's  land,  "taking  the  chances,"  as  they 
would  express  it,  of  something  happening  to  help  them 
to  hold.  To  aid  matters,  these  men  fenced  across  the 
road  near  their  houses,  and  carried  the  road  round  on 
the  hill-sides  above  their  farms.  The  settlers  were  not 
slow  to  follow  so  promising  an  example,  and,  to  have 
the  benefit  of  the  bottom-land  through  which  the  road 
ran,  they  also  pushed  the  road  away  up  the  hills. 

On  more  than  one  occasion  the  road  company  sent 
and  had  these  fences  removed  and  opened  the  original 
road  afresh.  But  travelers  did  not  aid  them  ;  for  here 
came  in  a  trait  of  American  character  I  have  often 
noticed,  namely,  unwillingness  to  insist  on  strict  right 
against  their  neighbors,  and  a  readiness  to  make  any 


116  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

shift,  or  agree  to  and  use  any  detour,  when  to  keep  the 
old,  straight  road  would  involve  a  question.  So  the 
valley  road  got  disused  in  places,  and  travel  went 
round  by  the  hills. 

Next,  the  squatters  bethought  them  that  they  might 
in  time  upset  the  road  grant,  and  get  good  title  to 
their  neighbors'  vineyard.  So  they  sent  on  a  petition 
to  Washington,  alleging  that  the  road  had  never  been 
made ;  that  there  was  no  road  at  all ;  that  there  had  been 
a  colossal  fraud.  But  the  matter  was  investigated,  and 
discovery  made  that  the  United  States  authorities  had 
ceased  to  have  any  jurisdiction  so  long  ago  as  1866. 
Still,  those  who  were  agitating  thought  something  might 
be  made  of  it.  So,  somehow  or  other,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior,  Mr.  Carl  Schurz,  was  induced  to  interfere, 
not  deterred  by  the  knowledge  that  the  land  depart- 
ment had  declined  to  act  twelve  months  before ;  and 
so,  a  year  after  the  squatters'  complaint  had  been  re- 
fused, an  agent  was  sent  out  to  report ;  he  was  well 
armed  with  the  assailants'  stories  in  advance,  and  he 
need  be  a  man  of  superexcellent  straightforwardness 
and  hardihood  unless  he  too  could  "see  something 
in  it." 

In  this  case  the  phoenix  was  not  discovered,  and  the 
eyes,  ears,  and  common-sense  of  hundreds  of  men  who 
knew  the  road  well  were  outraged  by  a  report  that  no 
road  existed  or  had  been  made  except  for  about  sixty 
miles  at  the  western  end  ;  and  that  the  road,  if  road  it 
could  be  called,  was  a  mere  wagon-track,  capable  of  use 
only  for  a  short  time  and  under  exceptionally  favorable 
circumstances  ! 

It  was  of  course  assumed  that,  at  so  great  a  distance 
from  headquarters,  a  hostile  report  would  end  matters, 


HARNEY  LAKE   VALLEY. 

and  that  all  the  advantages  hoped  for  by  the  squatters, 
and  by  any  and  all  who  had  espoused  their  cause,  would 
be  forthwith  enjoyed. 

We  have  yet  to  learn  that  the  American  Congress 
will  consent  to  be  made  parties  to  such  an  outrageous 
conspiracy ;  to  cast  an  infamous  slur  on  the  characters 
of  American  citizens  who  ventured  much  in  an  under- 
taking for  the  public  good  ;  in  violation  of  plain  and 
acknowledged  principles  of  law,  to  hamper  and  delay 
an  enterprise  relying  on  the  title  gained  in  1871,  and 
quietly  enjoyed  for  ten  years. 

The  largest  of  the  valleys  through  which  this  road 
passes  is  Harney  Lake  Valley,  only  about  eighty  miles 
from  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  State,  which  will 
receive  fuller  description  farther  on. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Indian  fair  at  Brownsville— Ponies— The  lasso— Breaking-in— The  pur- 
chase— "  Bucking  "  extraordinary — Sheep-farming  in  Eastern  Oregon 
— Merinos — The  sheep-herder — Muttons  for  company — A  good  offer 
refused — Exports  of  wool  from  Oregon — Price  and  value  of  Oregon 
wool — Grading  wool — Price  of  sheep — Their  food — Coyotes — The 
wolf-hunt — Shearing — Increase  of  flocks — "Oorraling"  the  sheep — 
Sheep  as  brush-clearers. 

SOME  of  our  people  wanted  to  buy  ponies  this  last 
fall,  and  heard  that  the  Indian  pony  fair  at  Brownsville, 
about  twenty-five  miles  from  here,  was  the  best  place. 
They  rode  off  one  fine  October  morning,  and  returned 
the  next  day  but  one,  with  a  handsome  four-year-old. 
The  scene  as  they  described  it  was  exciting  and  inter- 
esting. I  should  say  that  the  town  of  Brownsville  is  a 
lively  little  place,  with  seven  or  eight  hundred  inhabi- 
tants, and  some  fine  woolen-mills.  It  is  the  nearest 
valley  town  to  the  mountains  accessible  by  the  wagon- 
road  to  those  crossing  from  Eastern  Oregon.  Near  the 
town  was  the  fair-ground,  a  large,  fenced  inclosure, 
•with  from  two  to  three  hundred  ponies  careering  about 
it  in  a  state  of  wild  excitement.  Nearly  all  the  In- 
dians were  Warm  Springs,  some  few  Nez-Perces.  Both 
these  tribes  are  far  finer-looking  and  better  grown  than 
our  coast  Indians.  They  wear  white  men's  clotho^, 
but  deerskin  moccasins  on  their  feet.  Except  for  the 
absolute  straightness  of  the  black  hair,  these  men  al- 


BEEAKING-IK  119 

most  exactly  resemble  the  gypsies  as  seen  in  Europe  ; 
they  are  very  like  them  too  in  many  habits  of  mind 
and  life — equally  fond  of  red  and  yellow  handkerchiefs 
for  neck- wear  for  the  men  or  head-gear  for  the  women. 
Several  of  the  Indians  were  on  foot,  others  on  horse- 
back in  the  inclosure  where  the  horses  ran.  On  our 
friends  telling  one  of  the  Warm  Springs  chiefs  who 
was  standing  there  of  their  wish  to  buy  a  horse,  he 
questioned  them  as  to  the  kind  they  wanted,  and  the 
price  they  were  willing  to  give.  Then,  on  giving  some 
directions  to  one  of  the  Indians  on  horseback,  that  wor- 
thy unslung  his  lasso  from  his  saddle-horn  and  rode  into 
the  crowd  of  horses.  The  whole  wild  band  were  kept 
on  a  rapid  gallop  round  and  round.  The  Indian  soon 
selected  one,  and  flinging  his  lasso  over  its  head  he 
turned  and  stopped  his  horse  abruptly,  and  the  captive 
was  brought  to  the  ground  with  a  shock  enough  to  break 
every  bone  in  his  body.  He  was  quickly  secured  by  an- 
other rope  or  two  by  other  Indians  standing  near,  and 
was  then  carefully  inspected.  Not  being  altogether 
approved,  he  was  set  free  again,  and  quickly  rejoined 
the  band.  Another  was  caught,  and  another,  and  at 
last  a  trade  was  arrived  at,  subject  to  the  breaking- 
in  of  the  horse  in  question.  The  horse,  carefully  held 
by  lasso-ropes,  was  quickly  saddled,  a  hide  bridle  with 
sharp  and  cruel  curb-bit  was  slipped  over  his  head, 
a  young  Indian  mounted,  and  all  the  ropes  were  let 
go.  Away  went  the  horse  like  an  arrow  from  a  bow  ; 
then  as  suddenly  he  stopped  ;  then  buck-jumping  began, 
while  the  Indian  sat  firm  and  unmoved,  seemingly 
immovable.  This  play  lasted  till  the  horse  tired  of  it, 
and  then  off  he  went  at  a  gallop  again.  Before  he  got 
too  far  away  the  rider  managed  to  turn  him,  and  he 
6 


120  TWO    YEARS  IN  OEEGON. 

was  kept  going  for  an  hour  and  more  till  lie  was  utterly 
exhausted,  and  the  white  foam  lay  in  ridges  on  his 
skin.  By  this  time  all  the  bucking  had  gone  out  of  him, 
and  he  suffered  himself  to  be  brought  quietly  back  to 
the  corral,  and  he  was  handed  over  to  the  purchaser 
as  a  broken  horse.  A  long  negotiation  as  to  price 
had  ended  in  sixteen  dollars  being  paid  in  silver  half- 
dollar  pieces  (the  Indian  declined  a  gold  ten-dollar 
piece),  and  a  red  cotton  handkerchief  which  happened 
to  peep  from  our  friend's  pocket,  which  clinched  the 
bargain. 

The  average  size  of  the  ponies  was  just  under  four- 
teen hands  ;  the  shape  and  make  were  exceedingly  good. 
There  was  one  splendid  coal-black  stallion,  a  trifle  larger 
than  the  rest,  whose  long  mane  and  tail  adorned  him  ; 
for  this  the  Indians  declined  all  moderate  offers,  and 
got  as  high  as  fifty  dollars,  and  would  hardly  have  sold 
at  that.  There  was  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
spotted  roan,  which  is  the  traditional  color  for  the  In- 
dian "cay  use." 

Sheep-farming  in  Eastern  and  Northern  Oregon  has 
become  a  very  important  pursuit ;  it  is  also  followed 
largely  in  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  State.  As 
sheep  advance  cattle  retire,  and  many  a  growl  have  I  lis- 
tened to  from  the  cattle-men,  and  most  absurd  threats 
as  to  what  they  would  do  to  keep  back  the  woolly  tide  : 
even  to  the  length  of  breeding  coyotes  or  prairie-wolves 
for  the  special  benefit  of  the  mutton.  The  merinos, 
French.  Spanish,  and  Australian,  thrive  better  in  the 
drier  climate  east  of  the  Cascades  than  in  this  Willam- 
ette Valley.  The  vast  expanse  of  open  country  covered 
thinly  with  grass  involves  the  herding  system.  One  of 
our  fellows  undertook  this  business  near  Ileppner  in 


THE  SHEEP-HERDER.  121 

Umatilla  County.  He  had  entire  charge  of  a  flock  of 
1,700  merinos.  There  was  an  old  tent  for  him  to  sleep 
in,  but  he  preferred  to  roll  himself  in  his  blankets  on 
the  open  ground.  No  company  but  his  dog,  and  no 
voices  but  the  eternal  "baa,  baa"  of  the  sheep,  which 
almost  drove  him  mad.  His  "boss"  came  out  to  him 
once  in  three  weeks  with  a  supply  of  coffee,  flour,  beans, 
and  bacon ;  and,  if  meat  ran  short,  there  was  abun- 
dance of  live  mutton  handy.  About  once  in  three 
weeks,  on  the  average,  a  stray  traveler  would  cross  his 
path,  and  have  a  few  minutes'  talk  and  smoke  a  pipe. 
He  had  not  the  relaxation  of  sport,  for  the  sheep  have 
driven  deer  and  antelope  from  the  country.  Early  in 
the  morning  his  sheep  were  on  the  move  ;  he  had. to 
follow  them  over  the  range  ;  about  noon  they  lay  down 
on  the  hill-side,  and  he  stopped  to  eat  his  scanty  meal. 
All  the  afternoon  they  wandered  on,  till  evening  fell, 
by  which  time  they  were  back  on  the  sheltered  hill-side, 
which  stood  for  headquarters,  and  where  the  tent  was 
pitched.  Day  in,  day  out,  the  same  deadly  round  of 
monotonous  duty,  until  he  hated  the  look,  the  smell, 
the  sound  of  a  sheep,  and  I  think  has  an  incurable  dis- 
like to  mutton  which  will  last  him  all  his  life.  Don't 
you  think  that  his  forty  dollars  a  month  was  earned  ? 
When  October  came,  and  a  few  flakes  of  snow  her- 
alded the  coming  winter,  the  "boss"  came,  and  warned 
him  that  he  must  now  elect  whether  or  not  to  spend  the 
winter  with  the  sheep,  as  the  way  out  would  shortly 
close.  If  he  would  stay,  he  could  have  a  share  in  the 
flock  to  secure  his  interest,  and  could  also  take  his  pay 
in  sheep,  which  would  thus  start  his  own  individual 
flock.  The  offer  was  a  tempting  one  ;  the  path  was  the 
same  that  all  the  successful  self-made  sheep-men  had 


122  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

followed ;  cold  and  privation  alone  had  not  many  ter- 
rors to  a  hardy  man ;  but — one  look  at  the  sheep  de- 
cided him ;  he  could  not  stand  their  society  for  six 
months  longer.  So  he  left,  and  returned  to  the  valley, 
like  a  boy  from  school. 

I  know  one  or  two  men,  who,  forced  to  accept 
a  situation  of  this  sort,  have  used  the  time  for  the 
study  of  a  language,  and,  after  a  few  months  with 
the  sheep,  have  come  out  accomplished  Spanish, 
Italian,  or  German  scholars.  But  it  takes  some  reso- 
lution to  overcome  the  temptation  to  drift  along,  day 
by  day,  in  idleness  of  mind  and  body  more  and  more 
complete. 

.  The  Portland  Board  of  Trade  reports  that,  for  the 
year  1879,  766,200  pounds  of  wool  were  received  at  that 
city  from  Eastern  Oregon,  and  2,080,197  pounds  from 
the  Willamette  Valley,  showing  in  value  an  increase  of 
about  thirty-five  per  cent,  over  the  previous  year.  But 
Messrs.  Falkner,  Bell  &  Co.,  of  San  Francisco,  reported 
that  the  receipts  at  that  city  of  Oregon  wool  aggregated 
7,183,825  pounds  for  the  clip  of  1879.  The  figures  for 
1876  were  only  3,150,000  pounds.  It  should  be  noticed 
also  that  Oregon  wool  commands  an  excellent  price  in 
the  market,  even  six  cents  higher  than  California,  pos- 
sessing greater  strength  and  evenness,  and  being  free 
from  burs.  The  valley  wool  is  clearer  from  sand  and 
grit  than  that  from  Eastern  Oregon. 

But  much  remains  to  be  done  in  this  valley.  Far 
too  many  of  the  farmers  are  absolutely  careless  about 
scab  ;  and  sheep,  infested  with  this  noxious  parasite, 
are  suffered  to  run  at  large  and  poison  the  neighbors' 
flocks.  It  is  true  that  a  law  intended  to  extirpate  this 
curse  now  exists ;  but  neither  is  legislation  as  suffi- 


PRICE  OF  SHEEP.  123 

cient  nor  its  enforcement  so  strict  as  in  Australia, 
though  the  necessity  for  both  is  full  as  great.  There  is 
but  little  encouragement  either  to  the  valley  farmer  to 
expend  labor  and  money  in  improving  the  quality  of 
his  flock,  when  he  sees  his  neighbors'  inferior  fleeces 
command  just  as  high  a  price,  the  wool  from  perhaps 
ten  or  twenty  farms  being  " pooled"  without  regard  to 
quality.  The  remedy  is  of  course  found  in  grading  the 
wool ;  steps  for  this  purpose  are  being  talked  over  by 
many  intelligent  farmers,  and  I  expect  soon  to  see 
them  carried  out. 

The  exhibit  at  Philadelphia  of  Oregon  wool  received 
medals  and  diplomas  from  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Centennial  of  1876,  with  high  and  deserved  praise. 
And  the  show  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1878  was  also 
splendid  ;  the  Oregon  fleeces  equaling  the  Australian  in 
length,  strength,  evenness,  and  beauty  of  fiber. 

I  shall  have  a  little  more  to  say  as  to  the  breeds  of 
sheep  when  the  State  Fair  at  Salem  is  described,  where 
the  best  specimens  were  supposed  to  be,  and  I  believe 
were  collected.  Sheep  in  this  valley  are  worth  from 
$1.25  to  $1.75  for  store-sheep  for  the  flock,  and  from 
$2  to  $3  for  mutton-sheep  in  winter.  The  wool  of  a 
sheep  may  be  taken  to  fetch  $1  on  an  average  of  sea- 
sons. The  sheep  eat  grass  all  the  year  round;  they 
have  never  seen  a  turnip  or  cole-seed.  I  know  many 
farmers  who  have  kept  sheep  successfully  for  twenty 
years  on  nothing  whatever  but  the  natural  wild  grasses. 
The  great  enemy  of  the  sheep  in  these  foot-hills,  where 
the  pasture  is  intermixed  with  brush,  and  borders  on 
the  thicker  brush  and  timber  of  the  mountains  behind, 
is  the  coyote.  Two  or  three  of  these  little  wolves  will 
keep  half  a  county  on  the  alert,  destroying  far  more 


124:  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

than  they  eat.  This  "varmint"  is  somewhat  larger 
than  a  Scottish  sheep-dog,  and  of  a  tawny  color  ;  he 
has  long  hair  like  a  colley,  and  is  much  more  cowardly 
than  fierce.  He  lives  in  the  thick  brush,  whence  he 
steals  out  at  dusk  on  his  murderous  errand.  He  hunts 
generally  alone,  though  one  of  our  friends  saw  three 
together  one  evening  this  winter.  His  pace  is  a  long, 
untiring  gallop,  and  it  takes  a  very  good  hound  to  run 
him  down. 

The  usual  plan  of  the  hunt  is  for  several  rifles  to 
command  the  outlets  from  a  piece  of  woodland,  and 
then  to  take  into  the  brush  a  collection  of  five  or  six  of 
the  best  hounds  that  can  be  got  together.  When  the 
scoundrel  breaks  cover  he  may  go  fast,  but  the  rifle-bul- 
let or  buckshot  goes  the  faster,  and  it  would  not  do  to 
miss. 

The  sheep  killed  by  the  coyote  is  identified  by  the 
two  little  holes  on  either  side  of  the  throat,  where  the 
wolf  has  struck  and  held  to  drink  the  fast-flowing  life- 
blood.  The  carcass  is  rarely  torn.  But  the  worse  and 
more  common  coyote  is  the  mongrel  hound.  Every 
now  and  again  one  of  these  impostors  takes  to  murder- 
ing, and,  demure  and  quiet  as  he  looks  by  day,  slouch- 
ing around  the  barn,  spends  his  nights  killing  the 
neighbors'  sheep.  There  is  not  much  chance  for  him 
if  he  is  but  once  seen  ;  his  life  is  a  very  short  if  a 
merry  one. 

When  shearing-time  comes  round  there  are  plenty  of 
applicants  for  the  job.  The  price  is  usually  five  cents  a 
head,  the  farmer  providing  food,  but  the  shearer  find- 
ing his  own  tools.  Some  of  these  fellows  will  clip  a 
hundred  sheep  a  day,  or  even  more  :  true,  you  must 
look  after  them  to  prevent  scamping,  in  the  shape  of 


"CORRALING"   THE  SHEEP.  125 

cuts  on  your  sheep,  and  wool  left  on  in  thick  ridges,  in- 
stead of  a  clean,  good  shear.  We  expect  an  increase  of 
at  least  one  hundred  per  cent,  on  the  ewes  at  lambing- 
time,  even  though  so  little  cared  for ;  those  farmers  who 
are  good  shepherds  too,  improve  greatly  on  this  average. 
The  lambs  must  be  well  looked  after,  unless  the  wild- 
cat, eagle,  and  coyote  are  to  take  their  toll.  Not  half 
the  sheep  are  kept  in  this  valley  that  ought  to  be,  and 
that  will  be,  when  change  or  succession  of  crops  are 
universally  practiced. 

The  amusing  part  of  sheep-keeping  in  our  coast-hills 
is  "corraling,"  or  gathering  them  for  the  night.  By 
day  they  roam  freely  over  the  hill-sides,  and  you  would 
be  surprised  to  see  how  they  thrive  in  brushwood  and 
among  fern,  where  the  new-comer  could  hardly  de- 
tect a  blade  of  grass.  These  mountain-sheep,  too,  are 
more  hardy  and  independent  than  the  valley  flocks. 
But,  when  the  lambs  are  about,  I  am  sure  it  is  wise  to 
undertake  the  labor  of  collecting  them  in  the  "corral" 
for  the  night.  Without  your  sheep-dog  you  would  be 
lost,  for  you  would  not  have  a  chance  on  the  hill-sides, 
and  over  and  under  the  occasional  logs,  with  sheep  that 
jump  and  run  like  antelopes.  But  the  dog  cures  all 
that,  and  you  can  stand  in  the  road  and  watch  Dandy 
or  Jack  collect  your  flock  just  as  well  as  if  he  were  in 
the  cairns  and  corries  of  old  Scotland,  whence  he  or  his 
grandfather  came.  I  like  to  see  them  march  demurely 
in  at  the  open  gate,  and  then  run  to  the  log  where  you 
have  scattered  a  handful  of  salt  for  them,  every  grain 
and  taste  of  which  is  eagerly  licked  up.  And  they  are 
excellent  brush-clearers  ;  they  love  the  young  shoots  of 
the  cherry  and  vine-maple,  and  keep  them  so  close 
down  that  in  one  or  two  seasons  at  most  the  stub  dies, 


126  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

and  can  be  plowed  out  and  burned.  Therefore  every 
settler  who  takes  up  land,  or  buys  a  partly  cleared  farm, 
will  find  both  pleasure  and  profit  in  his  sheep,  and  that 
to  him  they  are  a  necessity,  even  more  than  to  the  val- 
ley farmer.  He  must  expect  a  percentage  of  loss  from 
the  wild  animals,  but  his  vigilance  and  love  of  sport  to- 
gether will  reduce  that  percentage  to  the  lowest  point. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  trail  to  the  Siletz  Eeserve—  Eock  Creek—  Isolation—  Getting  a  road— 
The  surveying-party  —  Entrance  at  last  —  Eoad-making  —  Hut-  bull  ding 
in  the  wilds  —  What  will  he  do  with  it?  —  Choice  of  homestead  — 
Fencing  wild  land  —  Its  method  and  cost  —  Splitting  cedar  boards  and 
shingles  —  House-  building  —  The  China  boy  and  the  mules  —  Picnick- 
ing hi  earnest  —  Log-burning  —  Berrying-parties  —  Salting  cattle  —  An 
active  cow  —  A  year's  work  —  Mesquit-grass  on  the  hills. 


I  traveled  through  Oregon  in  1877,  we  visited 
the  Siletz  Indian  reservation.  To  get  there  from  the 
district  called  King's  Valley,  where  we  were,  we  had  to 
take  the  mountain-trail  first  cut  out  by  General  Sheri- 
dan, when,  as  a  young  lieutenant,  twenty  years  ago,  he 
was  stationed  on  this  coast.  The  trail  went  up  one 
mountain  and  down  another,  and  crossed  this  river  and 
that  creek,  till,  at  the  foot  of  one  long  descent  from  a 
lofty  ridge,  which  we  thought  then,  and  which  I  know 
now  is,  the  water-shed  between  two  great  divisions  of 
this  county,  we  entered  a  valley  entirely  shut  in.  At 
the  southeastern  end,  where  we  entered  it,  it  was  a 
narrow  gorge,  down  which  a  quick  stream  hurried, 
with  many  a  twist  and  turn,  and  over  many  a  rocky 
ledge.  The  hill-sides  above  were  thick  with  fern  and 
berry-bearing  bushes,  and  the  black  trunks  of  the 
burned  timber  stood  as  records  of  the  great  fire  ;  but 
the  stream  ran  through  a  leafy  wilderness,  where  maple, 
alder,  and  cherry  shut  in  the  trail,  and  the  maiden-hair 
and  blechnum  ferns  grew  thickly  along  the  banks.  The 


128  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

valley  widened  out  as  we  advanced,  and  we  found  it  in 
shape  almost  like  an  outspread  hand,  the  palm  repre- 
senting the  central  level  bottom,  and  the  fingers  the 
narrow  valleys  and  canons  between  the  encompassing 
hills.  The  trail  led  us  by  turns  along  the  bottom  and 
the  lower  steps  of  the  hill-sides.  We  camped  to  dine, 
and  explored  some  distance  up  the  side-valleys,  coming 
on  old  Indian  camping-places,  with  the  bones  of  deer 
and  beaver  scattered  round. 

The  isolation  of  the  place,  hidden  away  there  among 
the  hills,  the  fresh  abundance  of  the  vegetation,  the 
mellowness  of  the  thick,  fat  soil  shown  where  we  crossed 
again  and  again  the  creek  dividing  the  valley  down  its 
entire  length,  all  charmed  me ;  the  steep  yet  rounded 
outlines  of  the  hills  often  recurred  to  me  when  I  was 
very  far  away.  When  I  came  back  to  Oregon,  in  1879, 
I  took  the  first  chance  I  had  of  going  over  this  old 
ground. 

The  question  was,  if  it  were  possible  to  run  in  a  road 
out  of  the  main  Yaquina  road,  which  I  knew  lay  but 
some  five  or  six  miles  off. 

So  I  sent  out  a  surveying-party  to  ascertain,  and  a 
rough  time  they  had.  It  rained  almost  incessantly ; 
the  brush  was  thick  ;  they  lost  their  way  ;  it  got  dark, 
and  they  went  wandering  on  till  they  struck  a  trail 
which  led  them  to  a  river.  "Now  we're  all  right," 
said  the  leader;  "this  is  the  Yaquina;  the  road  is  on 
the  other  side  of  the  creek."  So  they  struck  into  the 
rushing  water,  then  running  in  flood,  and  waded  across 
waist-deep.  But  no  road  on  the  other  side  ;  only  a 
dark  trail  leading  into  thick  brush.  Presently  it  was 
pitch-dark,  and  the  surveyor  confessed  he  did  not  know 
where  he  was  ;  that  this  was  certainly  not  the  Yaquina, 


ROAD-MAKING.  129 

and  apparently  there  was  no  road.  The  rain  still  fell 
heavily,  and  saturated  them  and  their  packs.  Then 
one  of  the  horses,  which  they  were  leading  along,  slipped 
from  the  bank  into  the  flooded  stream,  and  nearly 
dragged  his  owner  after  him.  At  last  they  determined 
to  camp.  Not  a  dry  spot  and  no  dry  wood  could  they 
find.  So  they  lay  down  under  the  shelter  of  the  big- 
gest log,  and  ate  a  supper  of  raw  bacon  and  an  odd 
lump  of  stale  crust.  Not  even  a  match  would  light, 
and  they  staid  out  the  weary  hours  of  darkness  as  best 
they  could,  wishing  for  dawn. 

With  the  earliest  light  they  were  on  foot  once  more, 
and,  after  wandering  a  little  farther,  the  leader  identi- 
fied the  Eock  Creek  Valley,  and  pointed  out  the  Siletz 
trail.  They  had  found  a  route,  but  certainly  not  the 
route  I  wanted. 

Next  I  went  out  myself  and  questioned  the  settlers 
down  the  road  as  to  the  trails  across.  At  last  we  struck 
on  what  looked  from  a  distance  the  lowest  gap  in  the 
encircling  mountains,  and  made  up  our  minds  to  keep 
on  trying  for  a  road  through  that  till  we  got  it,  or  were 
satisfied  it  was  impossible.  Perseverance  answered,  and 
we  struck  a  trail  up  the  course  of  the  Yaquina  River 
nearly  to  its  source,  and  then  through  some  thick  wood 
to  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  on  the  other  side  of  which 
was  the  Rock  Creek  Valley  ;  then  up  the  mountain  to 
the  low  gap,  and  thence  the  way  was  plain  down  into 
Rock  Creek. 

Road-making  in  Oregon  is  like  road-making  else- 
where. We  had  a  party  of  twelve  or  fourteen  men  at 
work,  and  had  to  build  three  huts  at  intervals  before 
the  road  got  through.  The  huts  only  took  a  few  hours 
to  construct.  Cut  down  a  dozen  cherry  poles,  straight 


130  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

and  long  ;  saw  off  a  cedar  log  and  split  it  up  again  and 
again,  till  you  get  planks  out  of  it  four  feet  long  and 
about  an  inch  or  so  thick.  Drive  your  cherry  poles  into 
dug  holes,  and  set  up  the  frame  of  your  hut ;  build  a 
recess  five  feet  wide  and  two  feet  deep  at  one  end  for  a 
chimney  ;  board  the  whole  in,  and  double  the  boarding 
on  the  roof  ;  line  the  inside  of  the  chimney  with  damp 
earth  for  about  two  feet  up,  and  then  carry  that  up 
above  the  roof  of  your  house  also  by  boards ;  hang  a 
door  on  a  couple  of  wooden  hinges  made  by  choosing 
strong  forked  pieces  of  crab-apple  which  will  not  split ; 
beat  down  the  floor  level  and  hard,  and,  if  you  are  very 
luxurious,  set  up  standing  bed-places,  or  bunks,  of 
cherry -pole  legs  and  cedar  boards  for  the  beds,  and  your 
habitation  is  complete — as  soon,  that  is,  as  you  have 
brought  in  a  huge  back-log  and  set  a  great  fire  blazing. 
Cut  off  a  few  chunks  of  wood  level  for  chairs,  and  fix 
two  or  three  boards  against  the  walls  for  shelves,  and 
you  have  no  idea  of  the  comfort  you  can  get  out  of  your 
house. 

We  dug,  and  graded,  and  moved  logs,  and  built 
bridges,  and  laid  corduroy  crossings  over  wet  places, 
and  in  about  three  months  the  way  into  Eock  Creek 
was  clear.  I  confess  to  a  little  pride  when  the  first 
wagon  went  safely  in,  and  down  into  the  level  bottom 
below.  The  next  question  was  the  hard  one,  What 
will  he  do  with  it  ?  The  wilderness  was  before  us  ; 
how  were  we  to  civilize  it  ?  Gazing  down  into  the  val- 
ley, with  here  a  ferny  slope,  there  a  copse  filling  acres 
of  bottom,  then  a  deep  caflon  with  green  trees,  there  a 
beaver-dam  flooding  the  best  piece  of  land  at  every 
high  water,  and  everywhere  the  great  black  trunks, 
standing  or  lying  prostrate,  in  some  places  heaped  to- 


FENCING  WILD  LAND.  131 

gether  in  the  wildest  confusion — it  was  a  case  that 
called  for  the  "  stout  heart  to  the  stiff  brae." 

The  first  thing  was  to  settle  the  place  for  a  home- 
stead, supplied  with  water,  but  out  of  the  reach  of  flood. 
And  a  rising  ground,  some  hundred  yards  from  the  river, 
along  one  side  of  which  ran  a  clear  little  stream  at  right 
angles  to  the  creek,  supplying  a  chain  of  three  beaver- 
ponds,  overhung  with  trees  and  shrubs,  was  chosen. 

The  next  thing  was  to  find  out  the  most  open  spaces, 
free  from  logs  and  brush,  and  which  could  be  plowed 
for  oats  and  hay.  Three  such  were  soon  set  apart, 
lying  far  distant  from  each  other,  and  therefore  giving 
three  distinct  centers  from  which  clearing  should  spread. 
Then  the  plow  was  set  to  work  to  tear  up  the  ferny 
ground,  and  what  few  logs  there  were  had  to  be  cut  in 
pieces  and  split  for  burning.  Next  came  the  fencing. 
It  takes  five  thousand  rails,  ten  feet  long  and  five  or  six 
inches  thick,  to  make  a  mile  of  snake-fence.  A  man 
can  split  from  one  to  two  hundred  rails  a  day,  accord- 
ing to  the  soundness  and  straightness  of  grain  of  the 
timber  ;  and  good  hands  will  contract  to  saw  the  logs, 
split  the  rails,  and  keep  themselves  the  while,  for  about 
a  dollar  and  a  quarter  the  hundred  rails.  The  difficulty 
was,  that  not  one  in  forty  of  the  fallen  logs  was  sound, 
and  the  rail-splitters  had  to  wander  all  up  and  down 
the  valley  and  far  up  the  hill-sides  to  get  the  right  ma- 
terial. However,  eleven  thousand  rails  were  provided 
and  gradually  hauled  to  their  places,  and  the  fields  and 
the  intervening  spaces  of  wild  lands  all  fenced  in. 

Meanwhile,  as  we  were  too  far  from  a  mill  to  haul 
lumber  to  any  advantage,  we  had  to  rely  on  the  cedar, 
which  splits  more  evenly  and  easily  than  the  fir ;  and 
some  five  thousand  boards,  six  inches  wide  and  from 


132  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

four  to  six  feet  long,  were  got  ready ;  while  the  tim- 
bers for  the  house  and  barn  were  split  from  straight- 
grained,  tough  fir.  Then  came  the  shingles,  and  a 
contract  at  two  and  a  half  dollars  a  thousand  set  two 
excellent  workmen  going,  and  first  fifty  thousand  and 
then  twenty  thousand  more  were  made  on  the  spot. 
Then  the  house-building  and  barn-raising  went  on  mer- 
rily, though  with  constant  grumbling  at  the  expense  of 
time  in  preparing  the  rough  materials,  instead  of  hav- 
ing ready-sawed  lumber  from  the  mill.  We  sent  to  the 
saw-  and  planing-mill,  fifteen  miles  away,  for  doors 
and  windows,  and  one  wagon  brought  in  all  that  were 
needed  for  a  nine-roomed  house,  at  a  cost  of  just  eighty 
dollars  ;  the  doors  and  door-frames  ready,  and  the  win- 
dows duly  glazed.  At  last  the  house  was  barely  habit- 
able, and  we  moved  in  in  patriarchal  procession. 

We  treated  ourselves  to  one  China  boy  to  cook  and 
wash.  For  his  benefit  a  cooking-stove  was  sent  out, 
and  set  up  in  a  handy  kitchen,  close  to  but  detached 
from  the  house.  These  China  boys  are  well  off  for  sense. 
The  wagon  was  heavily  laden  with  stores,  and  the 
mules  were  struggling  up  a  muddy  hill.  "Get  out, 
John,  and  walk,"  said  the  Scotch  driver,  and  John  had 
to  obey.  Long  before  the  top  was  reached,  John  got  in 
again  at  the  rear,  and  scrambled  back  into  his  place. 
"  Get  out,  John,  I  tell  you  ! "  ' '  Never  mind,  Kenzie  ; 
horsee  no  see  me  get  in  ;  they  know  no  better." 

But  a  good  deal  of  the  cooking  went  on  over  a 
bright  fire  of  logs  down  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the 
house,  where  the  tripod  of  sticks  stood,  with  the  black 
kettle  depending.  For  the  children  it  was  a  continuous 
picnic  ;  two  or  three  times  a  day  they  were  bathing  in 
the  river  ;  and  whenever  they  were  not  tending  the  fires, 


LOG-BURNING.  133 

which  were  burning  up  the  logs  and  brushwood  all  the 
time,  they  were  off,  fishing  down  the  creek. 

There  was  abundant  employment  for  every  hour  of 
the  day,  and  a  comfortable  assurance  that  the  work  once 
done  was  done  for  good ;  that  is,  that  each  patch  of 
ground  cleared  and  sown  was  so  much  actual  visible 

gain. 

At  night  the  scene  was  most  picturesque — bright 
stars  overhead,  and  great  fires  going  in  twenty  places, 
lighting  up  the  whole  valley  with  a  crimson  radiance. 
Some  of  the  huge  trunks,  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high,  were 
lighted  by  boring  two  auger-holes  so  as  to  meet  a  couple 
of  feet  deep  inside  the  tree  ;  the  fire  would  lay  hold  of 
the  entire  mass,  and  cataracts  of  sparks  burst  out  in 
unexpected  places  high  up  the  stem,  pouring  out  in  a 
fiery  torrent  at  the  top.  And  then,  when  the  tree  had 
been  burning  for  a  day  or  more,  it  would  fall  with  a 
heavy  crash,  and  a  great  spout  of  fire  would  start  forth. 

And  then  there  were  the  berrying-parties.  All  the 
women  and  children  would  start  for  the  hills,  and  come 
back,  their  baskets  laden  with  ripe  blackberries,  and 
the  crimson  thimble-berries,  and  yellow  salmon-berries, 
and  scarlet  huckleberries,  and  later  on  with  the  black, 
sweet  sal-lals.  And  they  filled  their  nut-bags  and  pock- 
ets with  the  wild  hazels. 

If  it  rained  too  hard,  and  it  did  once  or  twice,  the 
pocket-knives  were  all  in  use,  and  candlesticks,  and 
salt-cellars,  and  other  trifles,  were  cut  out  of  the  ever- 
useful  cherry  and  crab-apple. 

And  the  cattle  had  to  be  salted.  This  went  on  near 
the  house,  and  in  the  great  corral,  to  get  them  to  recog- 
nize their  headquarters,  a  most  necessary  knowledge  for 
them  before  the  winter  set  in.  They  were  quick  to 


134  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

learn,  and,  after  a  time  or  two,  a  short  excursion  down 
the  valley,  with  a  pocketful  of  salt,  and  the  long- 
drawn  cry  of  "Suck,  su-uck,  su-u-uck,"  would  bring 
a  speedy  gathering  from  distant  hills  and  tall  patches 
of  valley-fern,  and  a  long  procession  would  follow  the 
caller  back  to  the  corral. 

These  cattle,  most  of  them  mountain-bred,  do  tricks 
that  would  make  a  valley-cow's  hair  stand  on  end.  We 
got  one  fine  young  heifer  into  the  narrow  branding-cor- 
ral, to  milk  her.  This  was  shut  off  from  the  large  cor- 
ral by  a  fallen  log  five  feet  thick,  which  looked  high 
enough  to  keep  the  idea  of  scaling  it  out  of  any  cow's 
mind.  But  I  saw  her  make  a  standing  high  jump  on 
to  the  top  of  the  log,  and  over,  as  neatly  as  the  best- 
trained  hunter  could  possibly  have  done  it,  even  if  his 
rider  had  the  hardihood  to  put  him  at  it. 

Even  while  getting  their  own  livelihood  on  the  wild 
feed  on  the  mountain-sides,  where  you  and  I  could  see 
nothing  but  fern  and  thimble- berry  bushes,  the  cows 
grew  fat  and  yielded  abundance  of  milk,  and  that  very 
rich.  And  even  through  the  rainy  months  of  winter 
the  cattle  have  kept  themselves  fat  and  flourishing. 

The  work  has  now  been  going  on  nearly  eleven 
months,  and  this  is  the  position  to-day  :  The  road  is 
made.  The  house  is  built,  but  not  quite  finished  in- 
side. The  big  barn  is  finished,  with  stable  attached. 
The  orchard  is  cleared,  plowed,  planted  with  trees, 
which  have  now  nearly  a  year's  growth,  and  is  in  part 
seeded  down  into  permanent  pasture ;  as  to  the  other 
part,  it  is  in  potatoes  and  onions.  Two  fields — one  of 
four,  the  other  of  eight  acres — are  cleared  and  plowed, 
and  will  be  in  oats  this  spring.  Another  field,  across  the 
river,  is  cleared,  but  not  yet  plowed.  The  garden  round 


MESQT7IT-GRASS  ON  THE  HILLS.          135 

the  house  is  prepared.  Another  field,  near  the  house, 
of  about  three  acres,  is  cleared,  plowed,  and  now  being 
sowed  down  in  cloyer.  Another  clearing,  of  about  two 
acres,  on  old  beayer-dam  land  by  the  river,  is  planted 
in  cabbages  in  part,  and  the  rest  will  be  in  carrots  and 
beets.  About  two  hundred  acres  are  fenced  in  for  sheep, 
and  about  ninety  head  are  on  it,  helping  out  the  brush- 
cutting  by  eating  the  shoots.  About  fifteen  hundred 
acres  of  hill-land  were  burned  and  sowed  down  in  mes- 
quit-grass,  which  is  now,  at  one  year  old,  about  three 
inches  high.  Some  forty  head  of  cattle,  chiefly  cows 
and  calves,  and  a  few  two-year-olds,  are  in  the  valley 
and  all  doing  well ;  the  steers  were  sold  fat  to  the 
butcher  in  December  last.  The  building  work  has  been 
done  by  one  carpenter  and  an  assistant,  and  he  has  had 
occasional  help  in  preparing  boards.  The  doors  and 
windows  came  from  the  mill;  and  the  timbers  and 
boards  were  got  out  of  the  rough  logs  by  separate  con- 
tract. The  outside  work  has  been  done  by  three  men, 
and  an  occasional  fourth.  The  place  will  support  itself 
this  year,  if  all  goes  well,  and  next  year  should  yield  a 
fair  profit.  No  doubt  a  more  experienced  deviser,  and 
more  constant  supervision,  might  have  shown  a  speed- 
ier profit.  But  I  have  given  these  details  by  way  of  ex- 
ample in  bringing  wild  land  in,  and  making  a  "ranch" 
of  it. 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Indians  at  home— The  reservation— The  Upper  Farm— Log-ca bins- 
Women  must  work  while  men  will  play — The  agency — The  board- 
ing-house—  Sunday  on  the  reservation  —  Indian  Sunday-school — 
Galeese  Creek  Jem — The  store — Indian  farmers — As  to  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Indians — Suggestions — A  crime— Its  origin — Its  history 
— The  criminals — What  became  of  them — Indian  teamsters — Num- 
bers on  the  reservation — The  powers  and  duties  of  the  agent — Special 
application. 

AT  Rock  Creek  we  are  only  ten  miles  from  the  Siletz 
Indian  agency,  and  I  have  paid  many  visits  there,  and 
have  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  working  of  the  agency,  and 
also  know  a  good  many  of  the  Indians  pretty  well. 

First,  as  to  the  place  itself.  There  is  no  question 
that  on  the  reservation  is  some  of  the  best  land  in  the 
country,  and  the  most  easily  improved.  At  some  not 
very  distant  geological  date,  the  valley  must  have  con- 
sisted of  a  series  of  lakes,  connected  by  rivers.  On  the 
sides  of  the  hills  are  two  clearly  defined  terraces,  and 
the  flat  bottoms  are  not  covered  with  heavy  timber, 
either  alive  or  dead.  There  must  have  been  one  con- 
vulsion which  let  the  waters  out  and  reduced  the  level 
to  the  lower  terrace,  and  then  a  subsequent  one  which 
abolished  the  lakes  altogether,  leaving  the  Siletz  River 
for  the  water-course  of  the  whole  district.  Entering 
the  reservation  from  the  Rock  Creek  trail,  there  is 
about  six  miles  of  rough  and  tangled  country  to  get 
through,  where  the  hills  are  broken,  and  the  river  foams 


THE  RESERVATION.  137 

and  breaks  every  now  and  again  over  rocky  ledges.  The 
brush,  is  thick  along  the  river-banks,  and  the  thimble- 
berries  grow  so  high  and  strong  that,  as  you  ride  by, 
you  can  pluck  the  berries  from  the  level  of  your  face. 

Mounting  a  hill,  which  closes  the  gorge  ahead  of 
you,  the  whole  valley  known  as  the  Upper  Farm  lies 
before  you.  At  this  point  Rock  Creek  joins  the  Siletz 
itself,  which  here  is  a  wide  and  rushing  stream,  and 
divides  the  valley  along  its  entire  length  into  two  un- 
equal parts.  The  hills  fall  back  on  either  side  of  you 
and  lose  their  broken  forms,  becoming  long  slopes, 
draped  thickly  with  the  heavy  brake-fern.  Here  and 
there  stand  the  houses  of  the  Indians,  each  with  its 
grain-  and  hay-fields ;  while  of  cattle  of  all  ages,  and 
little  groups  of  ponies,  there  is  no  lack. 

Except  in  one  or  two  instances,  the  houses  are  log- 
cabins,  and  you  miss  the  staring  white  paint  so  com- 
mon in  this  country.  The  barns  also  are  log-built. 

There  is  not  much  show  of  neatness  about  the 
houses,  fences,  or  the  inhabitants.  As  you  ride  along, 
you  pass  an  old  crone  or  two,  with  bare  feet,  and  rag- 
ged, dirty  petticoats,  each  with  a  large  basket  on  her 
back,  supported  by  a  broad  band  across  the  forehead, 
in  which  she  is  carrying  home  the  potatoes  she  has  been 
digging  in  the  field. 

Round  one  or  two  of  the  doors  you  see  a  group  of 
lazy  ones,  men  and  children,  lying  or  squatting  on  the 
grass  or  in  the  dust  of  the  bare  patch  in  front — the 
women  you  see  through  the  open  door  at  work  inside 
the  house.  The  voices  cease  as  you  come  in  sight, 
but  your  salutation,  either  in  Chinook  or  English,  is 
civilly  returned,  and  a  quick  glance  takes  in  at  once 
your  personal  appearance  and  that  of  your  horse,  and 


138  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

every  detail  of  your  equipment.  You  see  a  few  men  at 
work  in  the  fields,  but  only  a  few.  The  men  are  bet- 
ter dressed  than  the  women ;  torn  or  ragged  clothes 
are  very  rare,  and  nearly  every  man  has  a  red  or  red 
and  yellow  handkerchief  loosely  knotted  round  his  head. 
Here  come  two  cantering  after  you  on  their  ponies ; 
one  carries  a  rifle,  and  you  recognize  him  as  one  of  the 
reservation  Indian  police.  He  asks  you  your  destina- 
tion and  business,  and,  as  you  are  bound  straight  for 
the  agency,  he  lets  you  go  on  without  a  pass.  They  are 
bound  to  be  strict,  and  to  see  that  unauthorized  visitors 
do  not  enter,  and,  above  all,  that  no  whisky  comes 
within  the  reservation  boundaries. 

Four  miles  more  along  the  road,  nearly  all  the  way 
through  farms,  or  by  open  pasture-fields,  where  grass 
and  fern  dispute  possession,  but  all  through  fine  bot- 
tom-land, varying  in  width  from  one  to  two  or  three 
miles  across,  brings  you  to  the  agency  on  the  Middle 
Farm.  What  timber  is  left  standing  are  huge  firs, 
splendid  specimens  of  trees.  Here  is  the  agency,  the 
central  spot  of  the  reservation-life.  The  prominent 
building  there,  two  stories  high,  with  overhanging 
eaves,  spick  and  span  in  new  white  paint  and  red  shin- 
gles, is  the  boarding-house.  Here  some  forty  or  fifty 
Indian  children  of  all  ages  are  collected  from  the  out- 
lying portions  of  the  reservation,  and  are  clothed,  fed, 
and  trained  ;  their  actual  teaching  goes  on  in  the  ad- 
joining school-house.  The  low,  gray  house  in  the  or- 
chard, behind  the  boarding-house,  is  where  the  agent 
lives ;  those  other  two  white  houses,  each  in  its  gar- 
den, are  inhabited  by  the  farmer  and  the  builder  or 
head-carpenter  and  millwright.  In  front  of  the  board- 
ing-house is  a  pretty,  open  grass-field  of  six  or  seven 


INDIAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  139 

acres  ;  and  that  neat,  white  structure  at  the  lower  cor- 
ner of  it  is  the  store.  The  Indians'  houses  are  dotted 
round ;  the  fields  are  better  kept  and  cultivated  than 
the  Upper  Farm ;  there  is  a  notable  absence  of  loafers 
and  stragglers  round,  and  more  farming  going  on  ;  sev- 
eral teams  of  horses  are  in  sight. 

The  agent  receives  us  kindly,  and  shows  us  round 
everywhere  with  interest  in  his  work  and  its  results. 
One  Sunday  I  was  there,  and,  hearing  the  church-bell 
calling  to  service,  went  in.  The  Sabbath-school  was 
just  beginning  in  the  school-room  behind  the  boarding- 
house.  It  was  a  mixed  assembly  of  all  ages,  some  ninety 
or  a  hundred  in  all.  The  women  were  better  dressed, 
and  the  little  children  had  been  treated  to  all  the  com- 
forts and  care  in  the  way  of  dress  their  parents  could 
muster.  There  was  a  great  variety  of  type  apparent, 
for  the  remnants  of  thirteen  tribes  of  the  coast  and 
Klamath  and  Rogue  River  Indians  are  collected  on  this 
reservation.  Nearly  all  could  speak  a  little,  and  under- 
stand more,  English — and  I  think  we  could  have  got 
on  quite  as  well  without  the  help  of  the  Indian  inter- 
preter, who  turned  our  English  into  fluent  Chinook. 
This  man,  named  Adams,  is  an  excellent  fellow,  well 
instructed,  capable,  civil,  and,  I  believe,  an  earnest 
Christian  man.  The  agent  asked  me  to  take  the  Bible- 
class  at  the  far  end  of  the  room,  and  soon  I  was  the  cen- 
ter of  the  observant  eyes  of  a  dozen  Indian  men  of  all 
ages.  Certain  of  them  were  friends  of  mine.  Old  Ga- 
leese  Creek  Jem,  a  little  fellow  about  five  feet  high, 
wi.th  a  broad  face  and  a  pair  of  twinkling,  laughing 
eyes,  had  brought  us  some  salmon  in  Rock  Creek  a  few 
days  before,  and  was  under  promise  to  bring  us  some 
more  on  Monday.  Two  or  three  of  the  others  always 


140  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

stopped  for  a  chat  as  they  passed  through.  All  of 
them,  I  noticed,  were  curious  to  see  how  King  George's 
man  would  act  in  this  new  capacity.  I  am  bound  to 
say  that  they  showed  considerable  knowledge  and  some 
reflection  in  the  answers  they  gave.  Perhaps  this  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  the  resolute  efforts 
made  now  for  several  years  past  to  instruct  and  Chris- 
tianize the  Indians  here. 

At  the  store  I  found  an  excellent  stock  of  all  things 
that  the  Indians  need,  and  marked  at  prices  which  en- 
abled them  to  lay  their  money  out  so  as  to  get  its  fullest 
value.  The  assistant  told  me  that  they  were  all  keen 
traders,  and  alive  to  minute  differences  in  quality  and 
texture  of  their  purchases. 

The  great  majority  of  the  men  now  heads  of  fami- 
lies on  this  reservation,  engaged  in  farming  a  little,  and 
sufficiently  instructed  in  methods  of  labor  to  add  con- 
siderably to  their  resources  by  working  during  a  part  of 
the  year  for  the  outside  farmers,  who  are  very  ready  to 
employ  them,  do  not,  I  consider,  either  wish  or  require 
to  be  treated  any  longer  as  children  or  wards  of  the 
United  States  Government.  In  my  judgment,  the  time 
has  come  to  apply  a  far  different  rule.  Many  to  whom 
I  have  talked,  and  others  whose  opinions  I  have  gath- 
ered from  trustworthy  sources,  desire  earnestly  to  be 
relieved  from  the  restrictions  and  to  abandon  the  privi- 
leges of  their  present  condition.  If  the  lands  they  now 
farm,  the  houses  they  now  dwell  in,  could  become  their 
private  property,  I  believe  that  they  would  support 
themselves  and  their  families  in  respectability.  It  may 
be  desirable,  it  probably  is,  to  prevent  their  having 
now  the  power  of  free  sale  and  disposal  of  such  lands, 
so  as  to  guard  them  at  the  outset  from  designing  pur- 


SUGGESTIONS.  141 

chasers;  but  I  believe  the  larger  part  by  far  would 
prize  earnestly  their  separate  estate.  Why  should  not 
an  independent  officer  have  power  to  establish  such 
families  on  homesteads  of  their  own,  on  sufficient  evi- 
dence of  character  and  capacity — such  men  ceasing 
thenceforth  to  have  claims  for  support  on  the  agency 
as  a  whole,  but  still  entitled  to  all  the  common  benefits 
of  the  school,  the  church,  and  the  store  ?  The  open 
land  of  the  reservation  would  be  diminished,  of  course, 
but  how  could  it  be  put  to  better  purpose  ?  I  am  per- 
suaded that  the  sight  of  their  neighbors  established  on 
homes  of  their  own  would  operate  as  a  strong  stimu- 
lus to  those  growing  up  and  entering  on  life,  to  decent 
and  orderly  behavior.  And  as  one  district  of  a  reser- 
vation became  thus  settled  up,  I  think  the  boundaries 
of  the  open  land  devoted  to  general  Indian  purposes 
might  be  proportionately  removed  and  contracted. 

Naturally,  this  plan  would  be  of  slow  operation,  but 
I  think  it  would  be  sure.  I  am  aware  of  the  powers 
given  to  Indians  by  the  homestead  act  to  obtain  land, 
but  the  plan  differs  in  important  respects  from  that  set 
out  above. 

The  Indians  on  the  Siletz  reservation,  of  which 
alone  I  know  anything  from  personal  observation,  are 
not  all  of  the  desirable  class  to  whom  I  have  referred. 
Some  mistiness  on  the  moral  law  yet  remains.  For 
instance,  a  murder  was  committed  by  three  of  them  a 
month  or  two  ago.  It  took  place  on  the  northern  and 
remote  part  of  the  reserve,  far  away  from  the  agency 
itself. 

Here  lived  one  who,  being  a  quack-doctor,  claimed 
the  character  of  a  mighty  medicine-man,  having  power 
to  prescribe  for  both  the  bodies  and  souls  of  his  patients. 


142  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

To  him  resorted  many  of  his  neighbors,  whose  faith  in 
his  charms  and  spells  was  boundless. 

He  undertook  the  cure  of  the  wife  of  one  Charlie, 
and  the  poor  thing  endured  his  remedies  patiently. 
But  the  woman  grew  worse  and  worse.  Charlie  and 
his  friends  debated  the  case,  and  at  last  concluded  that, 
if  the  medicine-man  could  not  cure  the  woman  accord- 
ing to  his  contract,  and  that  she  died,  it  would  prove 
to  them  that  the  doctor  was  a  humbug,  and  deserved  to 
die  the  death. 

The  catastrophe  arrived,  for  the  woman  died.  A 
council  was  held,  and  due  inquiry  made.  The  decision 
was  fatal  to  the  doctor,  and  Charlie  and  two  friends 
undertook  to  secure  that  no  one  else  should  be  misled 
and  defrauded  by  the  quack. 

Proceeding  to  his  house,  away  up  north  by  Salmon 
Eiver,  near  the  sea-coast,  the 'three  fell  on  the  medicine- 
man with  clubs,  and,  despite  threats,  prayers,  and  en- 
treaties, they  beat  him  to  death.  The  news  soon  spread, 
and  was  carried  to  the  ears  of  the  agent. 

I  can  not  help  confessing  to  a  half  sympathy  with 
the  murderers,  though  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  enormity 
of  the  crime.  It  would  be  a  satisfaction  to  feel  justified 
in  conscience  in  calling  for  a  bodily  expiation  of  the 
false  pretenses  and  ignorant  mummeries  that  did  one's 
(wife  to  death.  And  I  hear  that  the  Indians  in  question, 
while  acknowledging  that  they  knew  they  were  sinning 
against  the  laws  that  governed  life  on  the  reservation, 
yet  evidently  had  no  consciousness  of  intrinsic  wrong. 

However,  they  were  arrested  by  the  agent,  and  car- 
ried off  to  Fort  Vancouver  for  detention  and  trial. 
Hence  they  escaped,  but  were  pursued  by  the  soldiers. 
One,  being  caught,  refused  to  submit,  and  was  shot  by 


POWERS  AND  DUTIES  OF  THE  AGENT.   143 

the  corporal  in  charge  of  the  party  in  the  act  of  flight ; 
the  others  were  recaptured,  and  what  their  fate  is  or 
will  be  I  do  not  yet  know. 

But,  as  one  stands  on  the  beach  at  Newport,  and 
sees  a  long  string  of  wagons  and  teams  coming  down 
from  the  reservation  for  supplies,  each  in  charge  of  its 
owner,  a  respectable-looking  Indian,  it  is  impossible  not 
to  wish  for  them  the  separate  life  and  property  they 
themselves  desireu 

The  number  of  Indians  on  the  Siletz  reserve  is  most 
variously  stated ;  the  estimates  range  between  twenty- 
four  hundred  and  four  hundred.  I  should  fancy  the 
truth  to  be  nearer  the  smaller  than  the  larger  figures. 
It  is  obvious  that  the  conditions  of  life,  the  stage  of 
civilization,  the  state  of  education,  the  desire  or  readi- 
ness to  acquire  or  own  separate  and  individual  property, 
must  vary  in  every  reservation.  It  is  impossible  to  ap- 
ply the  same  rules  to  each,  and  I  do  not  presume  even 
to  have  an  opinion  regarding  reservations  other  than 
the  one  in  our  immediate  neighborhood. 

I  had  no  idea  till  lately  of  the  overwhelming  power 
held  by  the  agent.  No  Indian  can  leave  the  reserva- 
tion, however  well  established  his  good  character,  and 
for  however  temporary  a  purpose,  without  the  pass  of 
the  agent.  No  one  can  enter  the  reservation,  even  to 
pass  through  it,  or  to  stay  a  night  with  one  of  the  In- 
dians at  his  house,  without  the  same  leave.  Work  on 
the  roads  or  in  the  fields  of  the  reservation  is  at  the 
absolute  order  of  the  agent ;  no  corvee  in  ancient  France 
could  press  more  crushingly  on  the  peasant  than  could 
the  order  of  a  harsh  or  stern  agent  on  his  charge.  In 
the  choice  and  erection  of  houses,  in  the  furnishing  and 
distribution  of  stores,  in  matters  of  internal  police  of 


144  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

all  sorts,  his  word  is  law.  If  any  one  desires  to  study 
the  working  of  an  instructed  despotism  in  a  partly  civ- 
ilized community,  he  can  see  it  carried  to  its  logical 
extreme  on  an  agency. 

So  long  as  the  Indians  possess  the  attributes  of  chil- 
dren it  may  be  right  so  to  treat  them.  But  I  presume 
it  was  intended  by  the  framers  of  the  existing  system 
that  at  some  date  the  pupils  should  put  away  childish 
things  and  emerge  from  the  condition  of  tutelage.  The 
question  is,  whether  that  time  has  not  come  already  in 
many  instances. 

My  observations  have  all  had  reference  to  a  reserva- 
tion honestly  governed,  as  I  believe,  with  the  best  inten- 
tions toward  its  inhabitants.  But  how  the  system 
would  lend  itself  to  dishonest  measures  and  arbitrary, 
even  cruel,  treatment,  it  is  not  hard  to  imagine. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Legislative  Assembly— The  Governor— His  duties— Payment  of  the 
members — Aspect  of  the  city  ;  the  Legislature  in  session — The  lobby- 
ist— How  bills  pass — How  bills  do  not  pass — Questions  of  the  day — 
Common  carriers — Woman's  suifrage — Some  of  the  acts  of  1878 — 
Judicial  system  of  the  State — Taxes — Assessments — County  officers 
— The  justice  of  the  peace — Quick  work. 

THE  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Oregon 
meets  for  a  session  of  forty  days  once  in  every  two  years, 
at  Salem,  the  capital  of  the  State. 

The  Assembly  consists  of  a  Senate  of  thirty  members 
and  a  House  of  Representatives  of  sixty  members.  Sena- 
tors are  elected  for  four  years  and  Representatives  for 
two  years ;  but  half  the  whole  number  of  Senators  go 
out  of  office  every  two  years,  so  that  at  every  biennial 
election  the  whole  number  of  Representatives  and  half 
the  whole  number  of  Senators  are  chosen. 

The  proportion  of  Senators  and  Representatives  per- 
taining to  any  county  may  be  varied  after  each  United 
States  or  State  census,  in  accordance  with  the  results  of 
that  census,  as  showing  the  number  of  white  inhabitants 
in  the  county  or  district  and  their  proportion  to  the 
total  white  population  of  the  State. 

The  executive  power  of  the  State  rests  in  the  Gov- 
ernor, who  is  chosen  by  the  white  voters  in  the  State 
every  four  years.  His  duties  are  various  and  important. 
They  are  denned  by  the  Constitution  as  follows  :  He  is 
commander-in-chief  of  the  military  and  naval  forces  of 


146  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  State,  which  forces  he  may  call  out  to  suppress  in- 
surrection or  to  repel  invasion.  He  must  take  care  that 
the  laws  be  faithfully  executed.  He  must  inform  the 
Legislative  Assembly  as  to  the  condition  of  the  State, 
and  recommend  such  measures  as  he  deems  expedient. 
He  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  by  proclamation,  and  must  state  to  both 
Houses,  when  assembled,  the  purpose  for  which  they 
are  convened.  He  must  transact  all  necessary  business 
with  the  officers  of  government,  and  may  require  infor- 
mation in  writing  from  the  officers  of  the  administrative 
and  military  departments  upon  any  subject  relating  to 
the  duties  of  their  respective  offices.  He  has  power  to 
grant  reprieves,  commutations  of  sentences,  and  par- 
dons for  all  offenses  except  treason — this  last  offense 
being  under  the  direct  control  of  the  Legislative  Assem- 
bly. He  has  power  to  remit  fines  and  forfeitures — 
subject  in  all  these  cases  to  his  reporting  to  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  his  exercise  of  such  powers,  and  his 
reasons  therefor.  He  must  sign  all  bills,  and  has  the 
power  of  veto.  The  Houses  of  the  Legislative  Assembly 
may,  on  recommittal,  pass  bills  over  such  veto  by  votes 
of  two  thirds  of  members  present.  He  has  power  to  fill 
vacancies  occurring  in  any  State  office  during  the  recess 
of  the  Legislative  Assembly.  He  must  issue  writs  of 
election  to  fill  vacancies  occurring  in  the  Legislative 
Assembly,  and  all  commissions  must  issue  in  the  name 
of  the  State,  signed  by  the  Governor,  sealed  with  the 
seal  of  the  State,  and  attested  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

In  case  of  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Governor  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  has  to  discharge  his  duties  till  the  next 
election-time  comes  round. 

Oregon  manifests  a  good  deal  of  pride  in  her  various 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  147 

Governors ;  the  portraits  of  several  of  them  adorn  the 
Capitol  building. 

Members  of  the  Legislature  receive  pay  at  the  rate 
of  three  dollars  a  day  during  the  session.  The  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Eepresentatives  receive  five  dollars  a  day.  In  addition, 
they  all  get  mileage  for  their  journeys  to  and  from  Salem. 

During  the  session  of  the  Legislature  the  capital  city 
is  crowded  and  busy  ;  a  strong  and  intelligent  interest 
is  shown  in  the  meetings  of  this  miniature  Congress,  all 
of  which  are  open  to  the  public. 

The  preservation  of  order,  of  course,  depends  largely 
on  the  character  and  influence  of  the  presiding  officers  ; 
but  the  members  of  both  Houses  appeared  to  me  re- 
markably amenable  to  discipline.  The  debates  in  the 
Senate  were  generally  decorous,  even  to  dullness ;  the 
House  presented  a  more  lively  scene,  a  good  many  mem- 
bers being  sometimes  on  their  feet  at  once. 

The  great  faults  appeared  to  an  outsider  to  be  the 
tendency  to  make  very  unnecessary  speeches,  and  the 
constant  calling  for  divisions,  by  name,  on  the  most 
trivial  points.  Thus,  much  time  was  wasted. 

The  objectionable  feature  was  the  presence  of  a 
numerous  " lobby."  The  persons  constituting  this 
institution  made  themselves  seen  and  heard  in  season 
and  out  of  season ;  no  man  or  corporation  having  any 
bill  to  promote  could  leave  it  to  the  uninfluenced  con- 
sideration of  the  members,  but  sent  to  Salem  paid  re- 
tainers, to  attend  the  sittings,  to  haunt  the  members, 
to  study  their  proclivities  and  intentions,  and  to  get 
together  and  cement  such  alliances  as  should  secure 
the  passage  of  the  various  bills. 

Bills  may  be  introduced  in  either  House,  but  may 


148  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

be  amended  or  rejected  in  the  other ;  save  only  that 
bills  for  raising  revenue  must  be  introduced  in  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

It  becomes  a  matter  for  grave  consideration  in  which 
House  a  bill  should  be  introduced,  as  the  prestige  of 
success  in  one  House  may  help  to  carry  it  through  the 
other. 

Oregon  as  a  State  voted  Democratic  for  some  years, 
and  that  party  commanded  a  majority  in  the  Legisla- 
ture. But,  prior  to  the  last  elections,  namely,  those 
held  in  1880,  various  splits  or  dissensions  in  the  Repub- 
lican party,  or  among  its  managers,  were  got  rid  of, 
and  a  Republican  majority  in  the  Legislature,  and  the 
election  of  a  Republican  Representative  to  Congress, 
followed. 

The  first  struggle  when  the  Legislature  meets  is 
over  the  choice  of  presiding  officers.  The  chief  reason 
for  this  interest  is  that  on  the  President  of  the  Senate 
and  the  Speaker  of  the  House  devolves  the  duty  of 
nominating  the  various  committees  to  which  bills  shall 
be  referred.  There  are  committees  on  finance,  Federal 
relations,  commerce,  railroads,  and  several  others.  The 
Houses  pay  some  respect  to  the  report  of  a  commit- 
tee on  a  bill — especially  if  it  be  unanimous ;  but  the 
chief  province  of  the  committees  appeared  to  me  to 
be  to  obtain  possession  of  a  bill,  and  then  according 
to  the  private  views  of  the  committee  or  of  a  majority 
of  its  members  to  expedite,  or  hinder,  and  perhaps 
entirely  prevent,  its  passage.  And  thus,  again,  the 
power  or  rather  the  influence  of  the  presiding  officers 
was  felt. 

Every  kind  of  parliamentary  tactics  was  practiced  ; 
no  device  that  I  ever  heard  of  was  unknown  and  un- 


THE  LUNATIC  ASYLUM.  149 

used  by  these  far- Western  politicians.  One  thing  was 
very  noticeable,  namely,  that  the  great  fights  of  the 
session  were  over  matters  involving,  or  supposed  to 
involve,  private  interests. 

Thus,  for  many  years  it  has  been  the  custom  in 
Oregon  for  the  State  to  let  out  to  a  physician  the  care 
of  the  insane,  he  receiving  from  the  State  so  many 
dollars  for  each  patient,  the  cost  to  the  State  being 
collected  from  the  responsible  relatives  or  from  the 
estate  of  the  insane  person.  As  the  population  of  the 
State  increased,  of  course,  the  number  of  the  insane 
grew  also,  till  about  three  hundred  patients  were  in  the 
doctor's  care. 

Not  a  whisper  was  heard  against  the  management : 
there  was  good  supervision  ;  the  patients  were  well  and 
wisely  treated,  and  the  percentage  of  cures  quite  up  to 
the  average  of  the  most  successful  public  asylums. 
But  many  persons  thought  the  time  had  come  to  have 
a  State  asylum,  with  its  buildings,  and  committee  of 
management,  and  its  staff.  So  a  bill  was  introduced 
to  this  end ;  the  physician  who  was  then  contracting, 
and  for  many  years  had  contracted,  with  the  State  for 
the  care  of  the  insane,  objected.  Then  rushed  in  the 
lobbyists,  and  every  stage  in  the  struggle  was  watched, 
and  wrangled  over,  and  schemed  for,  as  if  the  whole 
future  of  the  State  depended  on  the  result.  In  spite 
of  the  efforts  of  the  doctor  and  his  following,  the  State- 
asylum  advocates  won  the  day,  and  ultimately  the  bill 
passed. 

Plans  for  the  new  asylum  have  since  been  prepared, 
and  the  building  is  begun.  Another  vast  question, 
which  divided  the  Legislature  into  two  hostile  camps, 
was  whether  or  not  the  narrow-gauge  railway  company 


150  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

should  carry  an  act  giving  it  the  use  of  a  piece  of 
ground  at  Portland,  called  the  levee,  which  had  been 
presented  to  that  city  a  few  years  ago,  but  now  lay 
practically  unused.  The  railroad  company  had  marked 
the  ground  for  its  terminal  purposes  ;  the  city  of  Port- 
land objected.  This  fight  was  most  bitter,  but  ended 
by  the  country  members  joining  in  support  of  the  bill, 
and  carrying  it  over  the  heads  of  the  Portland  members 
by  swinging  majorities — animated  largely  by  a  spirit  of 
resentment  at  the  Portland  members  having  been  very 
active  in  striving  to  defeat  a  bill  for  preventing  unfair 
discrimination  by  railroad  and  steamboat  corporations 
throughout  the  State. 

This  was  another  of  the  burning  questions.  The 
transportation  business  of  the  State  is  now  largely  con- 
trolled by  one  great  corporation,  called  "  The  Oregon 
Eailway  and  Navigation  Company,"  formed  by  amal- 
gamating divers  ocean  and  river  steamboat  companies, 
and  purchasing  or  constructing  detached  lines  of  rail- 
road. 

The  two  lines  of  railroad  running  north  and  south 
up  and  down  the  Willamette  Valley  not  being  as  yet 
absorbed,  a  lively  competition  existed  so  far  as  river 
and  railroads  ran  parallel.  Outside  the  limits  of  com- 
petition the  corporations  took  it  out  of  the  people  by 
what  they  thought  were  oppressive  exactions. 

Further,  the  headquarters  of  both  companies  being 
in  the  city  of  Portland,  and  their  course  of  transpor- 
tation carrying  all  the  traffic  of  the  State  in  and  out 
through  the  Portland  gate,  the  continuance  of  this 
state  of  things,  and  the  support  of  the  Eailway  and 
Navigation  Company,  became  the  great  object  of  the 
Portland  members  of  the  Legislature,  as  well  as  of 


COMMON  CARRIERS.  151 

those  members  who  were  for  any  reason  influenced  by 
the  corporations.  Hence  a  deep-lying  division  of  inter- 
est between  them  and  the  country  members. 

These  last  desired  to  pass  the  bill  in  question,  not 
only  to  rectify  existing  unfairness,  and  to  prevent  the 
repetition  of  former  oppressions,  but  as  rendering  more 
easy  the  task  of  whoever  should  propose  to  create  com- 
peting lines,  which  might  connect  with  or  intersect 
those  of  the  present  companies.  This  end  was  to  be 
gained  by  providing  that  all  transportation  agencies,  of 
whatever  kind,  should  convey,  without  preference  in 
time,  rates,  or  method  of  delivery,  all  passengers  and 
goods  presented  for  transit  over  the  whole  or  any  por- 
tion of  their  lines.  It  left  the  hands  of  all  companies 
entirely  unfettered  as  to  what  rates  they  should  charge 
on  fares  or  freights,  but  insisted  that  all  traffic  should 
be  evenly  and  proportionately  charged. 

The  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Senate,  and  passed 
its  earlier  stages  triumphantly.  Then  the  corporations 
and  the  Portland  merchants  awoke  to  the  possibilities 
of  competition  ;  stimulated  also  by  the  knowledge  that 
the  passage  of  the  bill  was  desired  by  the  promoters 
of  the  Oregon  Pacific  Railroad,  designed  to  bisect  the 
State  from  east  to  west,  and  to  have  its  outport  at 
Yaquina  Bay.  What  an  outcry  arose  !  Every  argu- 
ment that  could  be  tortured  by  the  lobbyists  into  a 
criticism  of  the  bill  was  openly  and  secretly  brought  to 
bear  on  the  members.  Its  enemies  got  it  referred  to  a 
hostile  committee,  from  which  it  was  with  great  difficulty 
recalled.  Time  was  asked  to  understand  a  bill  which 
consisted  of  but  twenty-four  lines.  Motions  for  ad- 
journment were  made,  and  divided  on  again  and  again 
to  waste  time.  But  the  most  ridiculous  scene  was 


152  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

reached  when  after  the  debate  on  the  third  reading 
had  virtually  closed,  and  the  final  vote  to  determine 
the  fate  of  the  bill  under  the  "previous  question"  was 
just  going  to  be  put,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  a 
stout  Jewish  gentleman  from  Portland,  of  German  ex- 
traction, descended  to  the  floor  of  the  Senate  to  de- 
liver a  panting,  incoherent  tirade  of  abuse,  not  on  the 
merits  of  the  bill,  but  against  the  Oregon  Pacific  Kail- 
road  and  every  one  connected  with  it ;  denouncing  as 
a  "lie,  and  a  fraud  of  the  first  wat her,  ghentelmen," 
a  statement  made  by  a  body  of  traders  and  farmers  in 
the  valley,  and  submitted  by  them  to  the  United  States 
Board  of  Engineers,  that  the  grain  which  would  seek 
an  outlet  over  the  proposed  road  would  amount  to  six 
million  bushels  annually — which  statement  had  been 
quoted  by  the  Oregon  Pacific  Eailroad  Company  in 
their  prospectus.  Shall  I  ever  forget  the  look  of  blank 
amazement  on  the  faces  of  the  Senators  while  the  Presi- 
dent's five  minutes  lasted,  and  he  gesticulated  and 
foamed  !  However,  the  bill  was  lost  by  a  vote  of  16  to 
14  ;  one  Senator  having  "ratted"  at  the  last  moment, 
to  the  disgust  of  a  large  body  of  the  members  of  the 
House,  who  were  waiting  to  seize  the  bill  and  carry  it 
up-stairs  into  their  chamber. 

Among  other  resolutions  carried  was  one  in  favor 
of  woman  suffrage  —  a  triumph  celebrated  immedi- 
ately by  a  supper  and  reception  given  to  the  members 
of  the  Legislature  in  the  Opera-House  at  Salem  by 
the  ladies  who  had  been  pressing  forward  the  resolu- 
tion, and  advocating  it  in  some  cases  by  a  form  of 
lobbying  which,  however  legitimate,  I  should  fancy 
some  of  the  members  must  have  found  it  hard  to  resist. 
Heaven  forbid  that  it  should  ever  fall  to  my  lot  to  hold 


SOME  LEGISLATIVE  ACTS.  153 

opposing  views  and  bring  forward  hostile  argument  to 
a  group  of  ladies  whose  heads  were  as  full  of  logic  and 
sense  as  their  faces  and  forms  of  smiles  and  attractive- 
ness !  To  give  some  general  idea  of  the  scope  of  the 
State  legislation,  let  me  quote  the  titles  of  a  few  of  the 
acts  of  the  session  of  1878  : 

"An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled  ' An  Act  to  pro- 
vide for  the  Construction  of  the  Willamette  Valley  and 
Coast  Railroad.' 

"An  act  to  promote  medical  science. 

"An  act  to  protect  the  stock-growing  interests  of 
the  State  of  Oregon. 

"An  act  to  regulate  salmon-fisheries  on  the  waters 
of  the  Columbia  River  and  its  tributaries. 

"An  act  to  secure  creditors  a  just  division  of  the 
estates  of  debtors  who  convey  to  assignees  for  the  bene- 
fit of  creditors. 

"An  act  for  the  support  of  the  State  University. 

"An  act  defining  the  rights  and  fixing  the  liabilities 
of  married  women,  and  the  relation  between  husband 
and  wife. 

"An  act  to  authorize  foreign  corporations  to  do 
business  and  execute  their  corporate  powers  within  the 
State  of  Oregon. 

"An  act  to  provide  for  liens  for  laborers,  common 
carriers,  and  other  persons  on  personal  property. 

"  An  act  to  prevent  the  spread  of  contagious  and 
infectious  diseases  among  sheep." 

Before  finishing  this  chapter  I  wish  to  add  a  few 
words  on  the  judicial  system  of  the  State. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  State  is  vested  in  the 
Supreme  Court,  circuit  courts,  and  county  courts.  The 
Supreme  Court  sits  at  Salem,  to  hear  appeals  from  the 


154  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

circuit  courts.  It  now  consists  of  three  judges,  elected 
in  1880  to  serve  six  years,  four  years,  and  three  years 
respectively,  their  successors  holding  office  for  six  years. 

The  State  is  divided,  I  believe,  into  five  circuits, 
and  for  each  a  judge  is  elected  to  serve  for  six  years. 

The  circuit  courts  have  all  judicial  power,  author- 
ity, and  jurisdiction  not  specifically  vested  in  any  other 
court,  and  have  appellate  jurisdiction  over  the  county 
courts. 

The  county  court  consists  of  the  county  judge,  who 
holds  office  for  four  years,  and  two  county  commission- 
ers. Together  they  transact  county  business,  and  have 
a  jurisdiction  over  civil  cases  where  not  more  than  five 
hundred  dollars  is  in  issue,  and  over  the  smaller  class 
of  criminal  offenses  where  the  punishment  does  not  ex- 
tend to  death  or  to  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  a  dis- 
trict judge  presiding  over  a  court  at  Portland.  That 
court  is  the  arena  for  trying  all  cases  where  one  of  the 
parties  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  State,  and  also  all  c,: 
in  which  the  Federal  laws  and  Constitution,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  State  system,  are  involved. 

The  police  of  the  State  is  in  the  hands  of  the  sher- 
iffs and  their  deputies,  the  sheriff  bein^r  elected  by 
popular  vote  every  two  years.  The  city  of  Portland 
has  a  regular  police  force  of  its  own.  The  other  towns 
in  the  State  appoint  marshals,  who  perform  police  du- 
ties within  the  city  limits. 

The  sheriffs  are  also  tax-collectors.  It  should  he 
added  that  the  State  and  county  revenue,  a<  distinct 
from  Federal  revenue,  is  collected  in  one  payment  by  an 
assessment  of  so  many  mills  (or  thousandths)  in  the 
dollar  on  the  total  amount  of  property  of  (.-very  kind 


COUNTY  OFFICERS.  155 

owned  in  the  State  by  the  tax-payer.  The  amount  on 
which  each  man  has  to  pay  is  ascertained  by  the  county 
assessor,  in  consultation  with  the  tax-payer.  No  form 
of  property  is  allowed  to  escape,  but  a  reasonable  valua- 
tion is  placed  on  possessions  of  a  doubtful  or  fluctuating 
nature  ;  and  exemptions  are  allowed  for  household  fur- 
niture and  clothes  and  small  possessions  to  the  extent 
of  three  hundred  dollars. 

The  county  clerks  have  also  to  stand  the  racket  of 
election  every  two  years.  In  Benton  County  we  are 
fortunate  enough  to  have  the  services  of  a  gentleman 
who  has  been  reflected  eight  times.  His  long  experi- 
ence in  the  office  makes  him  an  absolute  dictionary  of 
information  on  the  history  of  every  farm  in  the  county. 
He  is,  to  my  mind,  an  illustration  of  the  absurdity  of 
this  election  and  reelection.  Every  two  years  he  has 
to  waste  a  month  in  going  over  the  county,  spouting 
on  every  stump,  to  please  the  electors.  He  has  had  to 
endure  several  contests,  evoked  by  the  sayings,  "It's 
well  to  have  a  change  now  and  then,"  "  He's  been  there 
long  enough  ;  let  some  one  else  have  a  show,"  etc.  But 
any  new-comer  into  his  office  would  have  to  spend  a 
year  or  two  in  getting  up  the  very  information  about 
the  county  which  the  experienced  official  has  at  his 
very  finger-ends.  And  his  long  enjoyment  of  the  office 
is  the  only  reason  I  have  heard  given  for  a  change. 

In  the  county  clerk's  office  are  kept  the  record- 
books  for  the  county,  and  also  the  maps  of  the  various 
townships,  received  from  the  chief  office  at  Oregon 
City.  In  the  record-books  are  copied  all  deeds  affecting 
the  title  to  land  in  the  county.  The  chief  effect  of 
thus  recording  deeds  is  to  give  such  public  notice  of 
the  object  of  the  deed  that  no  man  subsequently  deal- 


156  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

ing  with  a  fraudulent  vender  can  be  treated  as  an  inno- 
cent purchaser  without  notice,  to  the  injury  of  the  real 
purchaser.  All  deeds  affecting  land  have  to  be  exe- 
cuted in  the  presence  of  two  witnesses,  and  acknowl- 
edged before  a  county  clerk  or  a  notary  public.  The 
interest  of  a  wife  in  her  husband's  property  is  care- 
fully guarded ;  and,  in  order  to  give  proper  title,  the 
wife  has  to  join  in  conveying  land  to  a  purchaser. 

In  addition  to  the  various  judicial  officers  above  de- 
scribed, there  are  the  not-to-be-omitted  justices  of  the 
peace.  Their  functions  are  extensive  :  among  others, 
they  can  perform  marriages,  and  at  short  notice,  too. 
I  have  heard  of  one  justice,  known  for  his  expedi- 
tious ways,  before  whose  house  a  runaway  couple  halted 
on  their  wagon.  The  man  shouted  for  the  justice, 
who  appeared.  "Say,  judge,  can  you  marry  us  right 
away?"  "I  guess  so,  my  son."  "Well,  then,  let's 
have  it."  Whereupon  the  justice  mounted  the  wagon- 
wheel,  and  there  stood  with  his  foot  on  the  hub. 
"  What's  your  name  ?  "  "  Jehoshaphat  Smith." 
"  Well,  then,  wilt  thou  have  this  woman,  so  help  you 

?  "    "  Yes. "    "  My  fee's  a  dollar ;  drive  on."    The 

justice  in  the  city  tries  for  assaults  and  drunkenness, 
and  administers  for  the  latter  seven  days  in  the  cala- 
boose— a  hole  of  a  place  in  a  back  alley — detention  there 
no  trifle,  especially  if,  like  a  tipsy  little  friend  of  mine, 
he  finds,  on  awaking  with  his  customary  headache,  thatj 
his  room-mate  is  a  big  countryman,  very  drunk,  who 
has  the  reputation  of  "smashing  everything  up"  when 
he  has  got  what  some  here  call  "his  dibs." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Land  laws — Homesteads  and  preemption — How  to  choose  and  obtain 
Government   land — University  land — School    land— Swamp  land — 
•    Kailroad  and  wagon-road  grants— Lieu  lands— Acreages  owned  by  the 
various  companies. 

To  make  this  book  useful,  I  must  run  the  risk  of 
making  it  tedious  by  some  account  of  the  land  system 
relating  to  the  preemption  and  homestead  laws  applica- 
ble to  the  public  lands  of  the  State. 

It  is  true  that,  long  since,  the  prairie-lands  of  the 
Willamette  Valley  have  all  been  taken  up  and  are  in 
private  ownership.  But  there  are  very  large  tracts  in- 
deed of  public  lands  in  the  hilly  and  wooded  portions 
of  Western  Oregon  still  open  ;  there  is  also  an  abun- 
dance of  open  land  in  the  fine  valleys  of  Eastern  and 
Southern  Oregon  available.  There  are  still  upward  of 
thirty  million  acres  unsurveyed  out  of  the  sixty  million 
nine  hundred  thousand  which  the  State  contains. 

There  are  five  United  States  land-offices  in  Oregon  : 
namely,  at  Oregon  City,  for  the  upper  and  central  parts 
of  the  Willamette  Valley,  including  also  Northwestern 
Oregon  generally  ;  at  Roseburg,  for  Southwestern  Ore- 
gon ;  at  Linkville,  for  the  southeastern  portion  ;  at  La 
Grande,  for  Eastern  Oregon,  strictly  so  called ;  and  at 
the  Dalles,  for  the  great  counties  of  W^asco  and  Uma- 
tilla — the  northern  part  of  the  State.  At  each  of  the 
land- offices  a  register  and  a  receiver  are  stationed  ;  and 
the  maps  of  the  district  are  also  deposited  there  for 
general  reference. 


158  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

When  the  settler  has  ascertained  that  a  piece  of  land 
is  eligible — that  is,  that  it  will  suit  him  not  only  for 
clearing  and  farming,  but  also  to  build  his  house  on  and 
live  there — he  goes  to  the  neighbors  to  find  out  the 
nearest  corner  posts  or  stones,  and  thence  by  compass 
he  can  determine  roughly  the  boundary-lines.  The' 
land  must  lie  in  a  compact  form,  not  less  than  forty 
acres  wide  ;  thus  he  can  take  his  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  in  the  shape  of  a  clean  quarter  of  a  section  or  of 
an  L,  or  in  a  strip  across  the  section  of  forty  acres 
wide  ;  but  he  can  not  pick  out  forty  acres  here,  and  a 
detached  forty  there,  and  so  on. 

He  then  goes  to  the  county  clerk's  office,  where  du- 
plicates of  the  land-office  maps  are  kept.  He  finds  out 
there  with  sufficient  correctness  if  the  piece  he  wants 
is  open  to  settlement.  The  land-office  is  the  only  source 
of  quite  certain  information,  because  it  is  possible  that 
a  claim  may  have  been  put  on  file  at  the  land-office, 
particulars  of  which  have  not  yet  reached  the  county 
clerk.  Being  satisfied  that  the  land  is  open,  the  in- 
tending settler  must  next  determine  whether  to  pre- 
empt or  homestead.  If  he  desires  to  preempt,  and  by 
payment  to  Government  of  $1.25  per  acre  for  public 
land  outside  the  limits  of  railroad  and  wagon-road 
grants,  or  $2.50  per  acre  for  land  within  those  limits, 
to  obtain  an  immediate  title,  he  must  be  sure  that  he 
does  not  fall  within  the  two  exceptions  ;  for  no  one  can 
acquire  a  right  of  preemption  who  is  the  proprietor  of 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  in  any  State 
or  Territory,  nor  can  any  one  who  quits  or  abandons 
his  residence  on  his  own  land  to  reside  on  the  public 
land  in  the  same  State  or  Territory. 

But,  first  of  all,  he  or  she  must  have  one  of  the 


HOMESTEADS  AND  PREEMPTION.          159 

following  personal  qualifications  :  the  settler  must  be 
the  head  of  a  family,  or  a  widow,  or  a  single  person ; 
must  be  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  or  have  filed  a  declaration  of  in- 
tention to  become  such.  Further,  the  settler  must 
make  a  settlement  on  the  public  land  open  to  preemp- 
tion, must  inhabit  and  improve  the  same,  and  erect  a 
dwelling  thereon. 

No  person  can  claim  a  preemption  right  more  than 
once.  But  the  settler  on  land  which  has  been  surveyed, 
and  which  he  desires  to  preempt,  must  file  his  state- 
ment as  to  the  fact  of  his  settlement  within  three 
months  from  the  date  of  his  settlement,  and  he  must 
make  his  proof  and  pay  for  his  land  within  thirty-three 
months  from  the  date  of  his  settlement.  The  fee  of 
$1.50  is  payable  to  the  register,  and  a  similar  fee  to 
the  receiver  at  the  land-office  on  filing  the  declaratory 
statement  above  mentioned.  It  should  be  added  that, 
if  the  tract  has  been  offered  for  sale  by  the  Government, 
payment  must  be  made  for  the  preempted  land  within 
thirteen  months  from  the  date  of  settlement.  If  the 
settler  desires  to  obtain  a  homestead,  he  must  come 
within  the  following  description  :  the  head  of  a  fam- 
ily, or  who  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years, 
and  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  who  has  duly 
filed  his  declaration  of  intention  to  become  such. 

The  quantity  of  land  thus  obtainable  is  160  acres, 
which  is,  at  the  time  his  application  is  made,  open  to 
preemption,  whether  at  $1.25  an  acre  or  at  $2.50  an 
acre.  There  was  until  recently  a  distinction  between 
land  within  the  limits  of  railroad  or  wagon-road  grants 
or  outside  of  such  limits,  only  80  acres  of  the  former 
class  being  obtainable,  but  the  distinction  is  now  done 


160  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

away.  The  applicant  has  to  make  affidavit,  on  enter- 
ing the  desired  land,  that  he  possesses  the  above  quali- 
fications, that  the  application  is  made  for  his  exclusive 
use  and  benefit,  and  that  his  entry  is  made  for  the  pur- 
pose of  actual  settlement  and  cultivation,  lie  has  also 
to  pay  fees  of  $22  for  1(>0  acivs  when  entry  is  made,  and 
$12  when  the  certificate  issues  ;  and  of  $11  for  80  acres 
when  entry  is  made,  and  $(>  when  certificate  issues. 
Such  fees  apply  to  land  of  the  $2.50  price.  They  are 
reduced  to  totals  of  *-.>:>  for  160  acres  and  $11  for  80 
acres,  for  land  of  the  *l.2:>  price. 

Before  a  certificate   is  given  or  a  patent  issued  fora 
homestead,  live  years  must    have  elapsed   from   the  date 

of  entry.    Affidavit  has  to  be  made  that  the  applicant 

has  resided  upon  or  cultivated  the  land  for  the  term  of 
live  years  immediately  succeeding  the  time  of  filing  the 
affidavit,  and  that  no  part  of  the  land  has  been  alien- 
ated. The  patent  giVM  an  absolute  title.  In  08ft 
the  death  of  the  settler  before  the  title  to  the  preemp- 
tion or  homestead  is  perfected,  the  grant  will  he  made 
to  the  widow,  if  she  continues  residence  and  complies 
with  the  original  conditions  ;  it'  l.oih  father  and  mother 
die,  leaving  infant  children,  they  will  be  entitled  to  the 
right  and  fee  in  the  land,  and  the  guardian  or  executor 
may  at  any  time  within  t  u  <  after  the  death  of  the 

surviving  parent,  and  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of 
the  State,  sell  the  land  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  ; 
and  the  purchaser  may  obtain  the  United  States  patent. 
Krom  what  has  been  stated,  it  will  be  seen  that  no 
title  to  land  can  be  obtained  from  preempt  or  or  home- 
steader who  has  not  perfected  his  title.  Nothing  can 
be  done  to  carry  out  such  a  transaction  except  for  the 
holder  to  formally  abandon  his  right,  which  can  be  done 


SCHOOL  AND  RAILROAD  LAND.  101 

by  a  simple  proceeding  at  the  land-office,  and  for  the 
successor  to  take  the  chances  of  commencing  an  entirely 
fresh  title  for  the  land  in  question.  Another  point  to 
be  noticed  is  that  the  homestead  is  not  liable  for  the 
debts  of  the  holder  contracted  prior  to  the  issuing  of 
the  patent.  The  law  allows  but  one  homestead  privi- 
lege :  a  settler  relinquishing  or  abandoning  his  claim 
can  not  thereafter  make  a  second  homestead  entry.  If 

•  tier  has  settled  on  land  and  filed  his  preemption 
declaration  for  the  same,  he  may  change  his  filing  into 
a  homestead,  if  he  continues  in  good  faith  to  comply 
with  the  preemption  laws  until  the  change  is  effected  ; 
and  the  time  during  which  he  has  been  on  the  land 

preemptor  will  be  credited  to  him  toward  the  five 

for  a  homestead. 

The  above  information  is  obtained  from  the  statutes 
of  the  United  States,  and  is  generally  applicable.  The 
rates  of  fees  given  are  those  which  apply  to  Oregon, 
and  v  ly  in  differci 

des  the  public  lands  open  to  homestead  and  pre- 
emption, a  settler  may  purchase  school  lands,  univer 
lands,  State  lands,  or  railroad  or  wagon-grant  la 
In  each  township  of   thirty-six  sections  of  640  a 
each,  the  two  numbered  10  and  30  are  devoted  t 
purposes,  and  are  sold  by  the  Board  of  8  Commis- 

sioners for  the  State  to  settlers  in  quantities  not  exceed- 
ing 320  acres  to  any  one  applicant,  and  at  the  best 
prices  obtainable  ;  such  lands  are  valued  by  the  county 

ol  superintendents  for  the  information  of  the  com- 

ut  the  minimum  price  is  two  dollars  an 

acre.    A  further  number  of  sections  has  been  granted  by 

the  United  States  to  :'  n  for  the  sup] 

of  the  University  and  of  the  Agricultural  College.    The 


162  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

greater  part  of  these  lands  has  been  sold ;  some  still 
remains ;  the  average  price  of  previous  sales  is  some- 
what under  two  dollars  an  acre.  The  State  also  pos- 
sesses some  further  lands  donated  by  the  United  States 
for  various  purposes,  but  the  quantity  is  not  extensive 
— except  of  lands  known  as  swamp  lands.  Where  the 
greater  portion  of  a  section  is  properly  describable  as 
wet  and  unfit  for  cultivation,  it  is  called  swamp  land. 
Such  lands  have  been  granted  by  the  United  States  to 
the  State  of  Oregon,  and  are  not  open  to  preemption 
or  homesteading.  A  very  free  interpretation  is  put  on 
the  words  "wet  and  unfit  for  cultivation,"  and  a  very 
large  acreage  is  included.  The  State  has  given  rights 
of  purchase  over  large  bodies  of  these  lands  to  different 
parties,  and  at  prices  which  I  have  heard  bear  but  a 
small  proportion  to  their  real  value.  At  every  session 
of  the  Legislature  some  fresh  bills  are  brought  in  for 
dealing  with  the  swamp  lands,  and  a  vast  amount  of 
"lobbying"  goes  on,  which  I  suppose  some  people  or 
other  find  a  profit  in.  The  great  bulk  of  these  lands 
are  situated  in  Southeastern  Oregon,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  lakes,  such  as  Klamath  Lake  and  Goose  Lake ; 
but  a  good  many  acres  are  scattered  throughout  Eastern 
and  Southern  Oregon. 

The  largest  land-owners  in  the  State  are  the  railroads 
and  the  military  wagon-road  companies.  The  great 
grant  to  the  Oregon  and  California  Eailroad  extends 
over  the  alternate  sections  within  twenty  miles  on  either 
side  of  the  road,  to  the  extent  of  12,800  acres  for  each 
mile  of  railroad.  The  total  estimated  amount  of  this 
grant  is  3,500,000  acres.  The  West-side  Eailroad,  called 
properly  the  Oregon  Central,  has  a  grant  estimated  at 
300,000  acres.  The  prices  at  which  these  companies 


ACREAGES  OWNED  BY  COMPANIES.       163 

Bell  these  lands  do  not  exceed  seven  dollars  per  acre ; 
and  the  amount  may  be  spread  over  ten  years,  carrying 
seven  per  cent,  interest.  The  wagon-roads  have  grants 
the  amounts  of  which  are  stated  as  follows  : 

loam. 

Oregon  Central  Military  Road  Company 720,000 

The  Dalles  Military  Koad  Company 656,800 

Corvallis  and  Yaquina  Bay  Wagon-Road  Com- 
pany  76,800 

Coos  Bay  Military  Road  Company 50,000 

The  Willamette  Valley  and  Cascade  Mountains 

Military  Wagon-Road  Company 850,000 

This  last  grant  is  attached  to  the  road  company  de- 
scribed in  a  previous  chapter.  The  Willamette  Valley 
and  Coast  Railroad  Company  also  has  a  grant  of  all  the 
tide  and  overflowed  lands  in  Benton  County,  the  amount 
being  estimated  at  about  100,000  acres  of  alluvial  land. 
In  many  cases  the  companies  were  unable  to  obtain  the 
full  amount  of  acreage  which  their  grants  give  them 
out  of  the  odd-numbered  sections  within  the  belt  cov- 
ered by  the  grant.  The  alternative  is  for  them  to  get 
what  are  called  "lieu-lands,"  outside  of  their  declared 
limits. 

So  rapid  is  the  tide  of  settlement,  especially  in  East- 
ern Oregon,  that  the  land -offices  are  thronged  with 
applicants.  A  young  Englishman  who  came  out  with 
me  wrote  from  the  Dalles  to  us  last  spring  that  on  three 
successive  Fridays  he  had  come  in  from  his  range  to  file 
his  homestead  application,  and  after  waiting  the  whole 
day  he  had  been  unable  to  get  the  business  done,  and 
had  to  return  to  his  quarters  disappointed. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  "Web-foot  State" — Average  rainfall  in  various  parts — The  rainy 
days  in  1879  and  1880 — Temperature — Seasons — Accounts  and  figures 
from  three  points — Afternoon  sea-breezes — A  u  cold  snap"— Winter 
— Floods — Damage  to  the  river-side  country — Bare  thunder — Earer 
wind-storms — The  storm  of  January,  1880. 

I  SHOULD  think  that  no  State  is  so  much  scoffed  at 
as  Oregon  on  the  score  of  wet  weather.  Our  neighbors  in 
California  call  us  "Web-feet,"  and  the  State  is  called 
"The  Web-foot  State."  Emigrants  are  warned  not  to 
come  here  unless  they  want  to  live  like  frogs,  up  to  their 
necks  in  water,  and  much  more  to  the  like  effect.  And 
this  question  as  to  the  quantity  of  rain  is  one  always 
asked  in  the  letters  of  inquiry  we  get  here  from  all  parts 
of  the  world.  It  is  impossible  to  give  a  general  answer, 
because  the  rainfall  varies  in  the  State  from  seventy-two 
inches  at  Astoria,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River, 
to  twelve  inches  on  some  of  the  elevated  plains  of  ex- 
treme Eastern  Oregon.  Western  Oregon  also  varies  in 
its  different  parts  ;  the  rainfall  of  seventy-two  inches 
at  Astoria  sinking  by  pretty  regular  stages  southward 
to  thirty-two  inches  at  Jacksonville. 

The  average  rainfall  for  four  years  reported  by  the 
United  States  Signal-Service  Station  at  Portland  is  52T8^j- 
inches.  At  Eola  near  Salem  the  average  of  seven  years 
is  37^  inches.  At  Corvallis  the  average  of  the  last 
three  years,  taken  at  the  Agricultural  College  by  Pro- 
fessor Hawthorne,  is  31TV<r  inches  ;  but  this  last  low  av- 
erage is  produced  by  the  fact  of  the  months  of  October 


A  VEEA  GE  RAINFALL.  165 

and  November,  1880,  having  been  unusually  dry.  The 
average  rainfall  for  October,  in  1878  and  1879,  was  2T%- 
inches,  and  for  November  4^%-  inches  ;  while  in  1880  the 
rainfall  for  those  months  was  only  -ffo  and  ^^  of  an  inch. 

The  result  of  the  late  setting  in  of  the  rains  in  the 
fall  of  1880  was  that  the  grass  was  very  late  in  resum- 
ing its  growth,  and  consequently  feed  for  stock  during 
the  early  part  of  the  winter  of  1880-'81  was  very  scanty. 
But,  perhaps,  it  is  better  to  give  the  number  of  snowy 
and  rainy  days  annually  occurring,  as  that  is  what  at  any 
rate  the  feminine  part  of  the  families  of  intending  emi- 
grants desire  to  know.  During  1879,  from  May  to  De- 
cember, there  were  at  Corvallis  thirty-five  rainy  days  and 
five  snowy.  During  1880  there  were  sixty-nine  rainy 
days  and  nine  snowy.  In  these  figures  are  taken  in  sev- 
eral days  which  were  only  showery  at  intervals,  and  there 
are  omitted  several  days  when  a  slight  shower  or  two  fell, 
with  bright  sun  in  between,  but  which  it  would  not  be 
fair  to  call  rainy  days.  But  the  distribution  of  the  rain 
is  of  more  consequence,  both  to  the  farmer  and  to  the 
mere  resident,  than  the  aggregate.  So  I  will  set  out  the 
rainy  and  snowy  days  for  the  several  months,  at  Corvallis  : 

1879.— From  May  17th  to  31st,  5  ;  June,  1 ;  July,  2  ; 
August,  3  ;  September,  4  ;  October,  2  ;  November,  7  ; 
December,  11,  and  5  snowy. 

1880. — January,  10,  and  3  snowy  ;  February,  5,  and 
2  snowy  ;  March,  5,  and  3  snowy ;  April,  10  ;  May,  8 ; 
June,  2  ;  July,  1  ;  August,  2  ;  September,  4  ;  October, 
5 ;  November,  5 ;  December,  12,  and  1  snowy. 

1881. — January,  9  rainy,  and  2  snowy ;  February, 
16,  1  snowy ;  March,  5  showery,  no  steady  rain. 

At  Eola,  near  Salem,  about  forty  miles  north  of  this, 
the  figures  differ  slightly,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  fol- 


166 


TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 


lowing  table.     But  this  is  an  average  of  the  seven  years, 
from  1871  to  1878  : 


MONTHS. 

Number  of 
rainy  days. 

Snowy  days. 

Eainfall, 
in  inches. 

January  

14-6 

1-8 

5-1 

February                          

14'4 

'6 

6-7 

March  

17-4 

•6 

6-1 

April  

11-5 

•28 

3-1 

Mav    . 

9'5 

0 

2-0 

:r  •>  

5- 

0 

1-2 

July 

1*8 

o 

•24 

Ausrust  . 

2-1 

o 

•14 

3-4 

0 

•78 

October                                     . 

7'4 

o 

2'93 

November    ... 

12'2 

•58 

5'56 

12'5 

1 

6-13 

The  next  question  is  as  to  temperature.  The  fol- 
lowing figures  speak  for  themselves — the  highest  and 
lowest  temperature  in  each  month,  and  the  monthly 
range,  reported  by  the  United  States  Signal-Service 
Station,  Portland,  Oregon  : 


1S74. 

1S75. 

1876. 

MONT3S. 

I 

| 

i 

1 

| 

i 

1 

1 

1 

a 

•3 

« 

H 

>-* 

M 

a 

3 

i 

January  

56° 

26° 

30° 

53° 

3° 

50° 

68° 

20 

38° 

February  

60 

31 

29 

54 

24 

30 

59 

32 

27 

March 

65 

33 

32 

55 

34 

21 

59 

00 

26 

April     .  . 

77 

37 

40 

83 

28 

55 

67 

33 

34 

May 

83 

43 

40 

75 

40 

35 

82 

36 

46 

June  

82 

45 

37 

82 

39 

43 

99 

45 

54 

July 

88 

49 

39 

95  -5 

46 

49  '5 

90 

49 

41 

August 

84 

46 

38 

88 

46 

42 

84 

43 

51 

September.  .  . 

88-5 

42 

46 

86 

44 

42 

90 

44 

46 

October  

77 

32 

45 

78 

36 

42 

79 

42 

37 

November.  .  .  . 

63 

27 

36 

63 

28 

35 

63 

34 

29 

December.  .  .  . 

57 

31 

26 

63 

33 

30 

56 

24 

32 

TEMPERATURE. 


167 


For  comparison's  sake  we  give  a  similar  table  for 
1878,  1879,  and  1880,  kept  at  the  Corvallis  Agricultural 
College  : 


1878. 

1879. 

1880. 

MONTHS. 

1 

i 

£> 

t 

3 

e 

j> 

| 

& 

e 

1 

§ 

n 

1 

I 

jjji 

5 

I 

1 

January  

65° 

20° 

35° 

46° 

20° 

26° 

50° 

24° 

26° 

February  .... 

60 

34 

26 

52 

25 

27 

44 

25 

19 

March           .  . 

67 

32 

3  5 

66 

32 

34 

54 

24 

30 

April  

71 

31 

40 

67 

32 

35 

76 

29 

47 

Mav 

80 

34 

46 

72 

36 

36 

72 

32 

40 

rr*'  

June 

92 

42 

50 

73 

42 

31 

85 

40 

45 

July..  . 

79 

53 

26 

90 

45 

45 

81 

42 

39 

August 

81 

52 

29 

83 

43 

40 

84 

42 

42 

September..  .  . 

73 

38 

35 

84 

42 

42 

80 

38 

42 

October  

61 

32 

29 

64 

28 

36 

68 

28 

40 

November.  .  .  . 

65 

30 

25 

55 

18 

37 

56 

12 

44 

December  .... 

64 

19 

35 

56 

8 

48 

56 

20 

36 

The  averages  of  temperature  for  the  four  seasons  at 
these  three  points,  Portland,  Eola,  and  Corvallis,  are  as 
follows  : 


POINTS. 

Spring1. 

Summer. 

Autumn. 

Winter. 

Portland. 

51-9° 

65*3° 

52-8° 

40-1° 

Eola 

48'3 

63  '7 

51*2 

oo  .  o 

Corvallis 

52 

67 

53 

41 

The  difference  between  the  extremes  is  therefore  for 
Portland,  25-2°;  for  Eola,  25 '5°  ;  for  Corvallis,  26°. 
Contrast  this  with  similar  figures  from  Davenport,  in 
the  State  of  Iowa.  The  winter  mean  there  is  19 '9°, 
the  summer  75 -2°  ;  showing  a  difference  of  55 '3°. 

At  Corvallis,  throughout  the  summer  months  and 

till  late  in  the  fall,  a  daily  sea-breeze  springs  up  from 

8 


168  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  west  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  con- 
tinues till  night  closes  in,  and  then  dies  off  gradually. 
However  pleasant  this  is  to  the  settler  heated  in  the 
hay-  or  harvest-field,  it  brings  its  perils  too.  I  give  an 
earnest  caution  not  to  be  betrayed  into  sitting  down  in 
the  shade  to  cool  down,  with  coat  and  vest  off,  while 
this  sea-breeze  fans  a  heated  brow,  or  a  sore  attack  of 
rheumatism  or  its  near  relative,  neuralgia,  will  very 
likely  make  you  rue  the  day.  Rather  put  on  your  warm 
coat  and  button  it  close,  and  let  the  cooling  process  be 
a  very  gradual  one.  But  if,  by  your  own  forgetfulness 
of  simple  precautions,  you  have  taken  cold,  and  rheu- 
matism has  you  in  its  grip,  do  not  turn  round  and 
abuse  a  climate  which  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  in 
the  whole  temperate  zone,  but  blame  yourself,  and  your- 
self only. 

In  the  winter  of  1879-'80  we  had  a  "cold  snap." 
The  day  before  Christmas  the  west  wind  suddenly 
veered  round  northward.  What  a  bitter  blast  came 
straight  from  the  icy  north  !  The  cattle  set  up  their 
poor  backs,  and  crowded,  sterns  to  the  wind,  into  the 
warmest  corners  of  the  open  fields,  and  there  stood  with 
rough  coats  and  drooping  heads,  the  pictures  of  passive 
endurance.  In  two  days  the  ice  bore,  and  everything 
that  could  be  called  a  skate  was  tied  or  screwed  on  to 
unaccustomed  feet ;  and  a  beautiful  display  of  fancy 
skating  followed,  as  all  the  "hoodlums"  of  the  town 
sought  out  the  Crystal  Lake  or  Fisher's  Lake. 

Then  came  the  snow  ;  and  every  one  left  off  skating 
and  took  to  sleighing.  The  livery-stable  keepers  made 
fortunes  by  hiring  out  the  one  or  two  real  sleighs  ;  but 
poor  or  economical  people  constructed  boxes  of  all 
shapes  and  fastened  them  on  runners,  making  up  in  the 


FLOODS.  169 

merriment  of  the  passengers  for  the  uncouthness  of  the 
vehicles. 

But  the  snow,  too,  only  lay  a  few  days,  and  we  were 
glad  when  our  old  friend  the  rain  fell  and  restored  to 
us  the  familiar  prospect.  For  houses  here  are  not  con- 
structed for  extremes  of  temperature  in  either  direc- 
tion ;  and  hot,  dry  air  in  the  sitting-room,  where  the 
close  stove  crackles  and  grows  red-hot,  is  a  bad  prepara- 
tion for  a  bedroom  with  ten  degrees  of  frost  in  it,  or 
the  outside  air  with  the  icy  wind  bringing  a  piece  of 
Mount  Hood  and  its  glaciers  into  your  very  lungs. 

The  only  good  thing  was,  that  it  lasted  so  short  a 
time.  And  during  this  last  winter  of  1880-'81  we  have 
had  no  such  experience. 

Instead,  we  have  had  trial  of  floods— the  highest 
since  1860-'61,  the  year  of  the  great  flood.  After 
about  twenty-four  hours'  snow,  the  wind  went  round  to 
the  south,  and  a  soft,  warm  rain  followed  for  nearly 
thirty-six  hours  more.  This  melted  the  snow,  both  on 
the  Cascades  and  on  and  round  Mary's  Peak.  The 
Mackenzie,  which  is  the  southeast  fork  of  the  Willa- 
mette, and  comes  straight  from  the  Cascades,  brought 
down  a  raging  torrent  into  the  more  peaceful  Willa- 
mette. All  the  tributary  streams  followed  in  their  turn. 
Telegrams  brought  news  from  Eugene  City,  forty  miles 
up  the  river,  every  hour,  "Kiver  rising,  six  inches  an 
hour."  Soon  the  banks  would  not  hold  the  water, 
which  spread  over  the  surrounding  country. 

Corvallis  stands  high  on  the  river's  bank  ;  but  look- 
ing across  over  the  low-lying  lands  in  Linn  County, 
nothing  but  a  sea  of  moving,  brown  water  appeared,  in 
which  the  poor  farmhouses  and  barns  stood  as  islands 
in  the  midst.  The  settlers  who  were  warned  in  time 


170  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

cleared  their  families  out  of  their  houses,  and  left  their 
dwellings  and  furniture  to  their  fate.  The  horses  and 
cattle  that  could  be  reached  in  time  were  swum  across 
the  river  to  safety  on  this  side,  and  an  excited  crowd 
lined  the  river-bank,  watching  the  swimming  beasts  and 
helping  them  to  land,  while  every  skiff  that  could  be 
pressed  into  the  service  was  engaged  in  bringing  across 
the  women  and  children  and  their  most  valued  posses- 
sions. One  man  lost  fourteen  horses  which  had  been 
turned  out  on  some  swampy  land  four  miles  below  the 
city ;  others  cattle,  sheep,  and  pigs ;  and  none  within 
reach  of  the  inundation — that  is,  within  a  belt  of  low 
land  averaging  two  miles  from  the  river  in  extent — but 
had  their  fences  moved  or  carried  away  and  heaped  in 
wild  confusion.  The  worst  case  I  heard  of  was  of  a  poor 
fellow  from  the  East,  who  had  just  invested  his  all  in  a 
farm  of  fat  and  fertile  bottom-land  a  few  miles  from 
Salem.  He  had  repaired  his  house  and  furnished  it,  had 
stocked  his  farm,  and  had  written  for  wife  and  family  to 
join  him.  The  rain  descended,  the  flood  came  ;  higher 
and  higher  it  rose,  sweeping  off  fences,  drowning  cattle  ; 
it  entered  the  house  and  spoiled  all  of  its  contents.  The 
unlucky  owner  had  to  betake  himself  to  a  tree,  whence 
he  was  picked  by  a  passing  skiff  the  next  morning,  be- 
wailing his  fate,  and  offering  his  farm  as  a  free  gift  to 
any  one  who  would  give  him  enough  dollars  to  return 
to  the  Eastern  State  whence  he  had  just  come. 

But  nearly  all  the  mischief  to  stock  came  from 
neglect  of  timely  warning.  No  one  but  could  have 
driven  all  off  to  safety,  for  the  water-worn  belt  was  a 
very  narrow  one.  Some  men  gained  largely  by  the  de- 
posit left  by  the  flood  on  their  land,  serving  to  renew 
for  many  years  the  productive  qualities  ;  others  were  in 


THE  "  CHINOOK."  171 

a  sad  plight — the  soil  being  washed  away,  deep  gullies 
plowed,  and  a  thick  coating  of  stones  and  river-grayel 
left. 

The  river  rose  high  enough  to  flood  the  lower  floors 
of  the  wheat  warehouses  from  Kosebury  to  Portland, 
and  in  the  river-side  towns  caused  a  great  deal  of  dis- 
comfort and  some  loss  ;  but  no  loss  of  life  resulted. 
It  carried  away  the  new  bridges  over  the  Santiam  River 
just  built  by  the  narrow-gauge  railroad,  and  washed 
away  several  miles  of  their  new  track.  It  also  broke 
through  several  viaducts  on  the  East-side  Railroad,  and 
stopped  postal  communication  for  a  day  or  two. 

The  winter  of  1880-'81  has  proved  disastrous  to 
stock  in  Eastern  Oregon.  As  a  general  rule,  the  sheep 
and  cattle  ranges  are  covered  with  bunch-grass,  which 
grows  from  ten  to  twenty-four  inches  high  during  the 
summer  months,  and  is  dried  by  the  sun  into  natural 
hay.  When  winter  comes  it  brings  with  it  snow  from 
six  to  eighteen  inches  deep,  and  this  lies  light  and 
powdery  over  the  face  of  the  country.  The  cattle  and 
sheep  scratch  the  covering  off,  and  feed  on  the  hay 
beneath.  The  prevailing  winds  in  the  winter  there  are 
north  and  south,  and  neither  melts  the  snow.  But  now 
and  again  comes  the  west  or  southwest  "Chinook." 
It  breathes  softly  on  the  snow,  and  a  quivering  haze 
rises  from  the  melting  mass.  When  the  "Chinook" 
blows  long  enough  to  melt  the  snow  away,  all  goes  well. 
But  this  last  winter,  after  blowing  for  a  day  or  two  and 
melting  the  surface,  it  gave  place  to  a  biting  blast  from 
the  north,  which  froze  all  hard  again.  The  unfortu- 
nate sheep  and  cattle  tried  in  vain  to  scratch  through 
the  icy  crust,  and  died  from  starvation  within  but  a  few 
inches  of  their  food. 


172  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

In  speaking  of  the  rainfall  of  the  State  it  is  right  to 
mention  a  considerable  stretch  of  land  lying  on  the 
east  side  of,  and  directly  under  the  lee  of,  the  Cascade 
Mountains.  Here  there  falls  but  six  or  eight  inches  of 
rain  in  the  year.  The  residents  have,  therefore,  to 
depend  on  irrigation  for  fertility  of  soil.  They  have 
abundant  facilities  for  this,  as  many  streams  and  creeks 
flow  down  from  the  Cascades.  With  irrigation,  very 
heavy  crops  of  grain  (as  much  as  forty  bushels  of  wheat 
to  the  acre)  are  produced. 

Western  Oregon  enjoys  a  remarkable  immunity  from 
thunder-storms.  They  are  of  very  rare  occurrence,  and 
when  the  thunder  is  heard  it  is  rumbling  away  in  the 
mountains  many  miles  off.  We  have  seen  some  sum- 
mer lightning  on  a  few  evenings,  gleaming  away  over 
the  hills. 

Wind-storms,  too,  very  seldom  visit  us.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1880,  one  curiously  local  storm  swept  from  the 
south  through  the  valley.  It  bore  most  severely  on 
Portland.  A  friend  there  told  me  that  he  was  looking 
across  the  river  to  East  Portland,  where  the  Catholic 
church  stood  with  its  spire,  a  prominent  object.  As 
he  looked,  the  blast  struck  it,  and,  as  he  expressed  it, 
the  building  melted  away  before  his  eyes.  Eiding 
through  the  green  fir-timber  in  the  hills  a  few  days 
after  the  storm,  I  saw  several  places  where  the  limbs 
were  torn  off,  and  even  great  trees  blown  down  in  a 
straight  line,  their  neighbors  within  but  a  few  feet  of 
them  standing  unhurt. 

The  Government  records  in  twenty-five  years  only 
show  three  winds  blowing  over  the  State  with  a  velocity 
of  forty-five  miles  an  hour  and  a  force  of  ten  pounds  to 
the  square  foot.  But  what  a  spring  we  have  had  this 


PLEASANT  SPRING    WEATHER.  173 

year — 1881 !  While  the  papers  have  been  full  of  snow- 
storms and  floods  in  other  places,  here  we  have  had 
balmy  sunshine  and  mild  nights,  with  occasional  show- 
ers. The  old  residents  call  it  real  Oregon  weather, 
and  say  it  always  was  like  this  till  two  or  three  years 
ago. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  State  Fair  of  1880— Salem— The  ladies'  pavilion— Knock-' em-downs 
a  V  Americaine — Self-binders — Thrashing-machines — Eates  of  speed 
— Cost — Workmanship — Prize  sheep — Fleeces  —  Pure  versus  graded 
sheep — California  short-horns — Horses — American  breed  or  Perche- 
ron — Comparative  measurements — The  races — Eunners — Trotters — 
Cricket  in  public — Unruly  spectators. 

ABOUT  two  miles  from  the  city  of  Salem,  the  capi- 
tal of  the  State,  are  the  fair-grounds.  Bound  a  large 
inclosure  of  some  fifteen  acres  of  grass-land  there  runs 
a  belt  of  oak-wood.  Here,  inside  the  boundary-fence, 
are  camping-places  without  end.  Until  1880  the  State 
Fair  has  been  held  in  October,  but  it  was  then  changed 
to  July,  in  the  interval  between  the  hay-  and  the 
grain-harvest,  and  so  as  to  take  in  the  great  national 
festival  on  the  4th  of  July.  Every  one  goes  to  the  fair, 
which  lasts  a  week,  for  every  one's  tastes  are  consulted. 
The  ladies  have  a  pavilion  with  displays  of  fruit  and 
flowers  ;  of  needle-work  and  pictures  ;  of  sewing-ma- 
chines and  musical  instruments  of  all  kinds  ;  of  house- 
hold implements  and  "  notions "  various.  The  chil- 
dren delight  in  an  avenue  of  booths  and  caravans,  where 
the  juggler  swallows  swords,  and  a  genius  in  academic 
costume  and  mortar-board  hat  teaches  arithmetical  puz- 
zles and  the  art  of  memory  in  a  stentorian  voice.  Here 
is  the  wild-beast  show,  and  there  the  American  substi- 
tute for  the  Old  World  knock-'em-downs.  A  canvas- 


SELF-BINDERS.  175 

sided  court,  five-and-twenty  feet  across,  contains  the 
game.  At  the  farther  side,  on  a  continuous  ledge, 
stands  a  row  of  hideous  life-size  heads  and  shoulders 
labeled  with  the  names  and  painted  in  the  supposed 
likeness  of  the  prominent  political  characters  of  the 
time.  A  great  soft-leather  ball  supplies  the  place  of 
the  throwing-sticks  ;  and  for  a  quarter  (of  a  dollar)  you 
can  have  a  couple  of  dozen  throws  at  the  pet  object  of 
your  aversion.  As  fast  as  the  doll  is  knocked  over  his 
proprietor  sticks  him  up  again  ;  while  an  admiring 
crowd  applaud  the  hits,  or  groan,  according  to  their 
political  colors. 

Here  is  a  great  opening  for  skill,  and  also  (say  it  in 
a  whisper)  for  trifling  bets.  A  man  I  know  was  "  dead 
broke "  when  he  went  to  the  knock-'em-down,  but  by 
straight  throws  and  cunning  he  gained  a  couple  of  dol- 
lars in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  so  got  another  day  in 
the  fair. 

The  real  business  of  the  fair  appeals  straight  to  the 
farmer  and  mechanic. 

The  long  rows  of  lumber-built  sheds  are  filled  with 
choice  sheep,  cattle,  horses,  pigs,  poultry.  The  race- 
track on  the  farther  side  of  the  grounds  is  crowded  also 
every  afternoon,  while  many  a  rivalry  between  the  run- 
ning or  trotting  horses  of  the  various  counties  is  decided. 

The  implements,  too,  are  a  fine  show.  The  "  self- 
binders"  display  their  powers  by  catching  up  and  tying 
over  and  over  again  the  same  sheaf  of  grain  before  a 
curious  crowd,  far  better  instructed  than  you  would 
suppose  in  the  intricacies  of  construction  and  neatness 
and  rapidity  of  performance  of  the  various  machines. 
Last  year  the  great  attraction  was  the  Osborne  twine- 
binder,  for  every  one  was  interested  in  getting  rid  of 


176  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  wire  that  has  been  injuring  the  thrashers  and  hurt- 
ing the  digestion  of  the  stock.  It  was  voted  a  good 
worker,  but  complicated,  as  far  as  we  could  judge  ;  and 
the  general  verdict  seemed  to  be  that  greater  simplicity 
of  make  and  fewer  parts  to  get  out  of  order  would  soon 
be  brought  to  bear  either  by  these  or  other  makers. 

There  were  two  or  three  thrashing-machines  dis- 
played— the  Buffalo  Pitts,  the  Minnesota  Chief,  and 
one  or  two  others.  The  great  distinctions  between 
these  and  the  machines  of  English  makers,  such  as 
Clayton  and  Shuttleworth,  lie  in  the  American  drum 
and  cylinder  being  armed  with  teeth  and  driven  at  a 
rate  of  speed  from  twice  to  three  times  that  used  in  the 
English  machine.  The  straw  is,  of  course,  beaten  here 
into  shreds  between  the  revolving  teeth,  and  its  length 
and  consistency  far  more  completely  destroyed  than 
in  the  Clayton  and  Shuttleworth,  and  so  loses  much 
of  its  value  for  storing  and  feeding  purposes.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  grain  is  better  cleaned,  and  the 
product  per  hour  in  clean  grain  is  double  that  of 
the  English  machine.  The  American  makers  authorize 
as  much  as  fifteen  hundred  bushels  per  day  with  horse- 
power, and  up  to  three  thousand  with  steam.  There 
were  several  horse-powers  shown,  for  use  with  the 
thrashing-machines  ;  these  left  nothing  to  be  desired 
for  simplicity  and  economy  of  power.  The  thrashing- 
machines  are  of  various  sizes  and  prices,  ranging  from 
8750  to  $1,500  in  value. 

An  idea  prevails  in  some  parts  that  the  mowers  and 
reapers  of  American  make  are  slighter  and  more  fragile 
than  those  of  English  construction.  Such  is  not  the 
result  of  our  observation  and  experience  here.  On  the 
contrary,  our  "Champion"  mower  and  reaper  com- 


PRIZE  SHEEP.  177 

bined  did  work  over  rough  ground,  baked  hard  with 
the  summer's  sun,  which  demonstrated  both  strength 
and  excellence  of  work  beyond  what  we  should  have 
expected  from  any  English  machine  we  know  of. 

There  was  a  very  poor  show  of  chaff-cutters  and  root- 
pulpers,  because  our  farming  friends  here  have  not  yet 
required  these  indispensable  aids  to  mixed  farming  and 
succession  of  crops.  After  spending  a  couple  of  profit- 
able hours  among  the  machines,  now  come  and  inspect 
the  stock. 

We  turn  first  into  the  long  alley  of  sheep-pens. 
The  first  attraction  is  the  prize  lot  of  Spanish  merinos. 
Huge,  heavy  sheep  clothed  with  wool  almost  to  their 
ankles ;  ungainly  to  an  English  eye,  from  their  thick 
necks,  and  large  heads,  and  deep  folds  of  skin.  The 
shearer  was  at  work,  and  fleeces  weighing  from  seven- 
teen to  twenty  pounds  were  displayed.  We  examine 
eight  or  ten  pens  of  these  merinos,  including  Spanish, 
French,  and  German,  mostly  in  use  in  Eastern  and 
Southern  Oregon,  where  the  dry  climate  and  wide 
range  suit  these  sheep  exactly.  There  were  one  or  two 
pens  of  graded  sheep,  merinos  crossed  with  Cotswold 
or  Vermont  bucks.  The  crosses  maintained  the  weight 
in  wool  and  decidedly  showed  improved  mutton,  but 
the  quality  of  the  wool,  of  course,  betrayed  the  admix- 
ture of  the  coarser  fiber.  There  were  two  or  three  pens 
of  improved  Oxfordshires,  the  breed  of  which  has  been 
kept  pure  by  a  well-known  fancier  in  Marion  County, 
on  the  uplands  east  of  Salem.  The  sheep  were  in  many 
points  very  pretty,  but  seemed  to  us  now  to  require 
fresh  blood,  as  the  wool-bearing  surfaces  were  evidently 
reduced.  Several  pens  of  pure  Cotswolds  were  exceed- 
ingly good,  both  in  shape,  size,  and  wool.  The  Ver- 


178  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

mont  crosses  which  had  been  tried  in  a  few  instances 
did  not  seem  to  us  to  have  been  profitable.  One  thing 
pleased  us,  namely,  that  the  best  sheep,  as  a  rule,  came 
from  those  farmers  who  bred  sheep  in  inclosed  lands 
and  fed  them  well,  as  part  of  a  general  system  of  farm- 
ing, rather  than  from  the  huge  flocks  of  the  sheep-men 
who  range  the  wilds. 

The  only  cattle  worth  looking  at  were  some  Dur- 
hams  brought  up  by  one  of  the  successful  California 
breeders  for  exhibition  and  sale.  The  prices  he  got 
must  have  been  very  satisfactory  to  him,  and  proved 
that  some  Oregon  farmers  at  any  rate  have  the  pluck 
and  foresight  to  give  full  value  for  good  stock. 

Next  came  the  horses.  The  stamp  varied  from 
nearly  thoroughbred  to  Clydesdale  and  Percheron  stud- 
horses, with  a  fair  number  of  mares  and  foals.  The 
parade  of  the  horses  each  day,  as  they  were  led  round 
the  ring  each  by  its  own  attendant,  was  a  very  pretty 
sight.  Nothing  special  need  be  said  of  the  well-bred 
stock — that  is  much  the  same  the  world  over  ;  only  the 
size  proved  how  well  adapted  Oregon  is  for  the  home  of 
horses  of  a  high  class.  What  interested  us  most  were 
very  fine  specimens  of  what  are  called  here  heavy  horses 
for  farm-work.  Standing  fully  sixteen  hands  high, 
with  long  but  compact  bodies,  good  heads,  with  large, 
full  eyes,  and  hard,  clean  legs,  fit  to  draw  a  light  wagon 
six  or  seven  miles  an  hour  over  muddy  roads,  and 
to  drag  a  sixteen-inch  plow  through  valley  soil,  they 
seemed  to  us  the  very  models  of  the  horse  the  valley 
farmers  should  breed  in  any  number.  We  regretted  to 
notice  the  large  number  of  Clydesdales  and  Percherons  ; 
the  latter  type  of  horse  especially  we  deprecate— tall 
grays,  with  thick  necks,  heavy  heads,  upright  shoulders, 


THE  RACES.  179 

slim,  round  bodies,  hairy,  clumsy  legs,  huge  flat  feet 
covered  with  the  mass  of  hair  depending  from  the  fet- 
lock. Just  such  you  may  see  any  day  in  the  farm-carts 
in  the  north  of  France — a  team  of  four  in  a  string,  the 
shaft-horse  overshadowed  by  the  huge  cart  with  wheels 
six  feet  high ;  the  carter  plodding  by  the  side,  in  his 
blue  blouse  with  his  long  whip.  Just  to  settle  a  con- 
troversy with  some  Percheron-mad  Oregonian  friends, 
we  had  several  horses  of  the  two  different  types  meas- 
ured then  and  there.  We  found  the  Oregon  mare 
girthed  nearly  a  foot  more  round  the  body  behind  the 
shoulders  than  the  Percheron  horse.  The  girth  of  the 
forearm  below  the  shoulder  was  greater.  The  Per- 
cheron was  the  taller  at  the  shoulder,  the  thicker 
round  the  fetlock,  and,  I  should  think,  carried  two 
extra  pounds  of  horse-hair  in  mane,  tail,  and  fetlock- 
tufts.  The  Oregon  mare  showed  just  those  points 
which  every  horse-lover  seeks,  to  testify  to  activity, 
strength,  endurance,  and  intelligence ;  the  Percheron 
was  lacking  in  such  respects,  but  instead  had  a  certain 
cart-horse  comeliness,  looking  more  suitable  for  a  brew- 
er's van  in  a  big  city  than  for  our  farms  and  roads. 

Like  the  rest  of  the  world,  we  answered  to  the  call 
of  the  bell,  and  crowded  through  into  the  grand  stand 
to  see  the  races.  A  circular  track  of  half  a  mile,  the 
surface  of  which  was  already  churned  into  black  mud, 
did  not  look  promising  for  the  comfort  of  either  driv- 
ers or  riders.  The  benches  of  the  grand  stand  were 
crowded  with  eager  spectators,  ladies  predominating — 
the  men  were  lining  the  track  below,  while  the  judges 
looked  down  from  a  high  box  opposite.  The  din  of  the 
men  selling  pools  on  the  impending  race  was  deafening, 
and  each  of  the  little  auctioneers'  boxes  where  the  sales 


180  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

went  on  was  surrounded  by  a  throng  of  bidders.  The 
first  race  was  for  runners,  that  is  gallopers,  ridden  by 
boys  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  old.  It  was  not  a 
grand  display  to  see  three  or  four  horses  galloping  away, 
dragging  their  little  riders  almost  on  to  their  necks, 
and  their  finishes  showed  no  great  art.  Then  came  the 
trotting  races,  and  these  were  worth  seeing.  Three 
sulkies  came  on  the  track,  the  driver  sitting  on  a  lit- 
tle tray  just  over  his  horse's  tail,  and  between  two  tall, 
slender  wheels.  Catching  tight  hold  of  his  horse's 
head,  and  sticking  his  feet  well  in  front  of  him,  each 
driver  sent  his  horse  at  a  sharp  trot  round  the  track 
to  open  his  lungs.  Then  the  bell  rang  again,  the 
course  was  cleared,  and  the  drivers  turned  their  horses' 
heads  the  same  way,  and  tried  to  come  up  to  the  judges' 
box  in  line.  Once,  twice,  they  tried  ;  but  the  bell  was 
silent,  and  back  they  had  to  come,  the  horses  fretting 
at  the  bit,  and  getting  flecked  with  foam  in  anxiety  to 
be  off.  The  third  time  the  three  sulkies  were  abreast 
as  they  passed  the  line,  the  bell  sounded  once,  and  off 
they  tore.  The  drivers  sat  still  farther  back,  and  the 
horses  laid  themselves  down  to  their  grand,  far-reaching 
trot.  Before  two  hundred  yards  was  covered  one  broke 
into  a  gallop,  and  had  to  be  pulled  back  at  once,  his 
adversaries  gaining  a  yard  or  two  before  he  could  be 
steadied  to  a  trot  again.  Here  they  come  in  the  straight 
run-in,  the  little  black  horse  slightly  in  front,  the  big 
bay  next,  but  hardly  a  head  between  them  ;  the  crowd 
shouts  wildly,  and  the  bay  breaks  trot  just  at  the  criti- 
cal moment,  and  the  black  wins  the  heat,  his  legs  going 
with  the  regularity  and  drive  of  a  steam-engine. 

The  horses  are  surrounded  by  admirers  as  they  are 
taken  out  of  the  sulkies,  and  led  off  to  be  rubbed  down 


CRICKET  IN  PUBLIC.  181 

and  comforted  before  the  next  heat  comes  on.  Then 
follows  a  running  race,  and  then  another  heat  of  the 
trotting  race.  This  time  the  bay  wins,  hard  held,  and 
forbidden  by  a  grasp  of  iron  to  break  into  the  longed- 
for  gallop.  Soon  comes  the  deciding  heat,  and  the 
excitement  grows  intense  ;  the  pools  are  selling  actively, 
and  speculation  is  very  brisk. 

Our  sympathies  are  with  the  little  black ;  half  a 
hand  shorter  than  his  antagonist,  and  more  like  a  trot- 
ting-horse  than  the  tall,  thoroughbred  bay.  But  the 
fates  are  against  him — size  and  breeding  tell,  and  the 
bay  wins. 

Then  the  band  strikes  up,  and  the  crowd  disperses. 
Most  get  back  to  the  city  by  one  of  the  miscellaneous 
wagons,  or  hacks,  or  omnibuses  pressed  into  the  service 
of  the  fair  ;  the  rest  betake  themselves  to  their  camping- 
places  among  the  oak-grubs,  after  supplying  themselves 
with  meat  and  bread  from  one  or  other  of  the  temporary 
stores  set  up  at  one  side  of  the  grounds. 

This  year  the  visitors  had  a  new  sensation  in  seeing 
cricket  played  on  the  fair-ground,  to  most  of  them  a 
new  sight.  Portland  is  blessed  with  a  cricket  club, 
mostly  supported  by  the  emigrants  from  the  old  coun- 
try. Corvallis  has  a  similar  advantage.  The  Portland- 
ers,  in  the  pride  of  their  strength,  and  heralded  by 
a  paragraph  in  the  "Oregonian"  newspaper,  that  the 
"team  selected  to  beat  the  Corvallis  athletes"  had  gone 
up  to  Corvallis,  had  come  for  wool  and  gone  home  shorn . 
So,  as  a  return-match  was  under  discussion,  it  was  de- 
termined to  accept  the  invitation  of  the  fair  committee 
and  play  the  return  on  the  fair-grounds  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  visitors.  Accordingly,  the  game  was  duly 
played  out,  and  ended  again  in  a  one-innings  defeat  of 


182  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

proud  Portland,  to  the  delight  of  the  spectators  from 
the  valley,  who  are  generally  a  little  jealous  of  the  airs 
and  graces  of  the  bustling  town  which  calls  herself  the 
metropolis  of  the  Northwest.  There  was  some  diffi- 
culty in  keeping  the  ground  clear  ;  the  ladies  particu- 
larly could  not  comprehend  the  terrible  solecism  they 
were  committing  in  tripping  bravely  across,  to  speak, 
to  "  point,"  and  chat  with  the  wicket-keeper.  If  you 
could  but  have  seen  the  horror-stricken  faces  of  one  or 
two  of  our  eleven,  accustomed  to  the  rigor  of  the  game 
at  Cambridge,  Kugby,  or  Cheltenham  ! 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

History  of  Oregon — First  discoverers — Changes  of  government — Kecogni- 
tion  as  a  Territory — Entrance  as  a  State — Individual  histories — "  Jot- 
tings"— "Sitting  around" — A  pioneer  in  Benton  County— How  to 
serve  Indian  thieves — The  white  squaw  and  the  chief— Immigration 
in  company — Eafting  on  the  Columbia — The  first  winter — Early  set- 
tlement— Indian  friends — Indian  houses  and  customs — The  Presby- 
terian colony — The  start — Across  the  plains — Arrival  in  Oregon — The 
"whaler"  settler — A  rough  journey — "  Ho  for  the  Umpqua!" — A 
backwoodsman — Compliments — School-teacher  provided  for — Uncle 
Lazarus — Eoguo  River  Canon — Valley  of  Death — Pleasant  homes — 
Changed  circumstances. 

TAKING  note  of  the  civilized  and  settled  condition 
of  so  large  a  part  of  this  State,  it  is  hard  to  credit  that 
it  was  only  in  1831  that  the  first  attempts  at  farming  in 
Oregon  were  made  by  some  of  the  men  in  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company's  service,  and  that  in  1838  the  first  print- 
ing-press arrived .  This  valued  relic  is  now  preserved 
in  a  place  of  honor  in  the  State  Capitol  building  at 
Salem — more  accordant  with  the  spirit  of  the  times 
than  rusty  armor  or  moth-eaten  banners. 

The  early  history  is  somewhat  misty,  but  the  follow- 
ing slight  sketch  is,  I  believe,  accurate  : 

The  coast  of  Oregon  was  visited  both  by  British  and 
Spanish  navigators  in  the  sixteenth  century.  In  1778 
Captain  Cook  sailed  along  the  coast.  In  1775  Heceta, 
and  in  1792  Vancouver,  both  suspected  the  existence 
of  the  Columbia  River  from  the  appearance  of  its  estu- 


184:  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

ary.  But  in  1792  Captain  Gray,  of  Boston,  and  after- 
ward, in  the  same  year,  Captain  Baker,  an  English- 
man, entered  the  estuary  itself.  It  was  on  Captain 
Gray's  discovery  that  the  United  States  Government 
afterward  rested  its  claim  to  the  whole  country  watered 
by  the  great  river,  the  mouth  of  which  he  had  discov- 
ered. But  Lieutenant  Broughton,  of  the  British  Navy, 
in  1792  or  1793,  a  very  few  months  after  Captain  Gray's 
visit,  actually  ascended  the  Columbia  for  one  hundred 
miles,  and  laid  claim  to  the  country  in  the  name  of  King 
George  III.  In  1804  the  American  Government  expe- 
dition of  Lewis  and  Clark  crossed  the  Eocky  Mountains, 
descended  the  Columbia,  and  passed  the  winter  of 
1805-' 6  at  its  mouth  ;  and  the  records  of  their  discov- 
eries first  drew  public  attention  to  the  country.  In 
1810  Captain  Winship,  also  from  New  England,  built 
the  first  house  in  Oregon.  Astoria  was  founded  in  1811 
by  John  Jacob  Astor,  of  New  York,  as  a  trading-port. 
The  British,  while  the  war  was  raging  in  1813,  took 
possession  of  the  post  and  named  it  Fort  George.  Then 
followed  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  claimed  the 
sovereignty  of  the  country  under  the  terms  of  their 
wide  charter.  They  established  their  headquarters  for 
the  North  Pacific  coast  at  Vancouver,  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Columbia,  about  one  hundred  miles  from 
its  mouth.  There  the  fort  was  built,  the  settlement 
formed,  farming  began,  and  the  Governor  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Territory  had  his  Western  home. 

In  1832  the  first  school  was  opened.  Between  1834 
and  1837  missionaries  of  various  denominations  arrived, 
bringing  cattle  with  them;  and  in  1841  Commodore 
Wilkes  visited  Oregon  on  an  exploring  expedition  by 
order  of  the  United  States  Government.  From  1816 


ENTRANCE  AS  A  STATE.  185 

to  1846  the  "joint  occupancy"  of  Oregon  by  the 
American  and  British  Governments  lasted  under 
treaty. 

In  1843  the  people  were  for  the  first  time  recognized, 
and  united  in  forming  a  provisional  government,  for- 
mally accepted  at  a  general  election  in  1845.  By  the 
year  1846  the  white  population  numbered  about  ten 
thousand  souls,  and  in  that  year  the  Oregon  Territory, 
including  both  the  present  State  of  Oregon  and  also 
Washington  Territory,  was  ceded,  under  the  Ashbur- 
ton  Treaty,  by  the  British  Government  to  the  United 
States. 

Congress  formally  recognized  the  Territory  of  Ore- 
gon in  1848,  and  in  1849  GeneralJoe  Lane  entered  office 
as  the  first  Territorial  Governor.  His  portrait  now 
adorns  the  Capitol  building.  And  the  old  general, 
still  erect  and  in  full  preservation,  in  spite  of  his 
years  and  services,  has  been  until  this  spring  of  1881 
yet  seen  and  respectfully  greeted  at  many  a  public 
gathering. 

In  1859  Oregon  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a 
sovereign  State ;  the  population  was  52,465.  In  1880 
the  census  gave  a  total  of  174,767  souls,  showing 
an  increase  of  122,302  in  twenty-one  years,  and  an 
increase  of  74,767  over  the  State  census  in  1875.  But, 
after  all,  the  history  of  a  State  is  the  history  of  its 
people. 

Nowadays  we  enter  Oregon  within  twenty  days 
from  Liverpool,  having  been  speeded  on  our  journey  by 
steamships  and  railroads  in  continuous  connections. 
Within  two  years  the  State  expects  to  have  two  direct 
lines  of  Eastern  communication — one  by  the  Northern 
Pacific,  the  other  by  a  line  through  the  southeastern 


186  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREQOX. 

corner  of  the  State  to  Reno,  on  the  Central  Pacific — 
shortening  the  twenty  to  sixteen  days.  Within  two 
years  more  it  is  hoped  that  the  Oregon  Pacific  will  make 
communication  at  Boise  City,  Idaho,  with  independent 
Eastern  lines,  and  open  a  still  more  direct  course  out 
to  the  centers  of  population  and  enterprise.  But  in 
the  early  days,  from  1846  to  1851,  when  the  tide  of  set- 
tlement ran  first  this  way,  their  experiences  were  widely 
different. 

Listen  to  the  tales  some  of  these  men  tell— not  old 
men  yet  by  any  means  ;  the  vigor  and  power  of  life 
still  burn  in  most  of  them,  for  the  dates  are  but  thirty 
years  back.  But  what  a  different  life  these  pioneers 
led  then  ! 

Let  me  sketch  the  scene  and  its  surroundings  where 
these  "jottings  round  the  stove"  are  made.  It  is 
rather  a  dusty  old  room,  and  a  rusty  old  stove  in  the 
middle,  and  rather  a  dusty  and  rusty  company  are  gath- 
ered round  it.  Winter-time  is  upon  us  ;  the  rain  falls  in 
a  ceaseless  drizzle,  and  the  drops  from  the  eaves  patter 
on  the  fallen  leaves  of  the  plane-trees  round  the  house. 
The  time  is  after  the  noon  dinner-hour ;  no  work  presses, 
for  the  fall  wheat  is  all  in,  and  there  is  a  sense  of  warmth 
and  comfort  within,  which  contrasts  with  the  dim  scene 
without,  where  the  rain-mists  obscure  the  hills  and  fill 
the  valley  with  their  slowly  driving  masses. 

Five  or  six  of  us  "sit  around  "—mostly  on  two  legs 
of  the  chairs,  and  our  boots  are  propped  up  on  the 
ridge  round  the  stove.  We  don't  go  much  on  broad- 
cloth and  "biled"  shirts,  but  we  prefer  stout  flannel 
shirts  and  brown  overalls,  with  our  trousers  tucked 
inside  our  knee-high  boots.  Tobacco  in  one  form  or 
the  other  occupies  each  one.  Carpets  we  have  no  use 


A  PIONEER  IN  BENTON   COUNTY.         187 

for,  and  it  is  good  that  the  arm-chairs  are  of  fir,  as  the 
arms  are  so  handy  for  whittling,  there  being  no  loose 
pieces  of  soft  wood  by.  But  we  are  all  good  friends, 
and  I,  for  one,  do  not  wish  for  better  company  for  an 
hour  or  two  "  around  the  stove." 

"  So  the  old  man  came  into  Benton  County  in  1845, 
did  he?" 

"  Yes,  he  and  his  wife  and  two  young  children,  and 
took  up  a  claim  there  three  or  four  miles  from  town. " 

"  Was  there  a  town  then  ?  " 

"Not  much — just  three  log-cabins  and  a  hut  or  so  ; 
they  called  it  Marysville ;  it  did  not  get  the  name  of 
Corvallis  till  years  after." 

"  How  about  the  Indians  ?  " 

"  "Well,  there  were  plenty  in  the  valley,  Klick-i-tats 
and  Calapooyas — these  last  were  a  mean  set  at  that.  The 
valley  was  all  over  bunch-grass  waist-high,  and  the 
hills  were  full  of  elk  and. deer." 

"  Had  the  old  man  any  stock  ?" 

"  He  had  just  brought  a  few  with  him  from  Mis- 
souri over  the  Plains,  and  fine  store  he  set  by  them. 
You  see  the  Indians  used  to  come  and  beg  for  flour  and 

o 

sugar,  and  a  beef  now  and  then.  Some  of  the  neigh- 
bors would  give  them  a  beef  at  times,  but  the  old  man 
used  to  say  he  hadn't  brought  no  cattle  to  give  to  them 
varmints." 

"  How  did  they  manage  to  live  at  first  ?  " 
"Well,  the  old  man  used  to  go  off  for  a  week  at  a 
time  to  Oregon  City  to  work  on  the  boats  there  at  his 
trade  of  a  ship-carpenter.  He  had  to  foot  it  there  and 
back,  and  pack  flour  and  bacon  on  his  back  for  his 
folks,  and  a  tramp  of  sixty  miles  at  that." 

"  Did  the  Indians  bother  any  while  he  was  gone  ?  " 


188  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

"  One  time  a  pack  of  them  came  round  the  cabin 
and  got  saucy,  finding  only  the  old  lady  at  home.  They 
crowded  into  the  house  and  began  to  help  themselves, 
but  the  old  lady  she  took  the  axe  and  soon  made  them 
clear  out.  When  the  old  man  came  back  she  told  him 
about  it.  'Well,'  says  he,  'I  reckon  I  shall  have  to 
stop  at  home  a  day  or  two  and  fix  these  varmints.'  So 
three  or  four  days  afterward  back  they  came. 

"The  old  man  he  kept  out  of  sight,  and  the  buck 
they  called  the  chief  came  in  and  began  to  lay  hold  of 
anything  he  fancied. 

"Then  the  old  man  showed  himself  in  the  doorway 
with  his  old  rifle  on  his  arm.  He  looked  the  chief  up 
and  down,  and  then  he  says  to  his  wife  :  '  Do  you  see 
that  bunch  of  twigs  over  the  fireplace  ?  You  take  them 
down,  and  go  through  that  fellow  while  the  twigs  hold 
together!'  And  he  says  to  the  Indian,  'You  raise  a 
finger  against  that  woman,  and  I'll  blow  the  top  of  your 
head  off  ! '  So  the  old  lady  takes  down  the  willow-twigs, 
and  goes  for  the  Indian  for  all  there  was  in  it,  and  beats 
him  round  and  round  the  house  till  there  wasn't  a  whole 
twig  in  the  bunch.  Lord  !  You  should  have  seen  the 
whole  crowd  of  twenty  or  thirty  Indians  splitting  with 
laughter  to  see  the  white  squaw  go  for  the  chief.  I  tell 
you,  sir,  that  Indian  made  the  quickest  time  on  record 
back  to  the  camp  as  soon  as  she  let  him  go,  and  that 
crowd  never  bothered  that  cabin  any  more.  Now, 
wasn't  that  much  better  than  shooting  and  fighting,  and 
kicking  up  the  worst  kind  of  a  muss  ?  " 

"Well,  I  guess  so.  Did  he  have  any  more  bother 
with  the  Indians  ?  " 

"Not  a  great  deal.  You  see  they  were  a  mean  lot, 
and  would  lay  hands  on  anything  they  could  steal ; 


RAFTING   ON  THE  COLUMBIA.  189 

but  there  wasn't  a  great  deal  of  fight  in  them.  One 
time  they  had  been  robbing  one  of  the  neighbors  of 
some  cattle,  and  they  went  and  told  the  old  man.  He 
went  up  all  alone  to  the  Indian  camp  with  his  rifle,  and 
picked  out  the  man  he  wanted  out  of  a  crowd  of  fifty 
of  them ;  and  he  took  him  and  tied  him  to  a  white- 
oak  tree,  and  laid  on  to  him  with  a  sapling  till  he 
thought  he'd  had  enough,  and  not  one  of  the  whole 
crowd  dared  raise  a  hand  against  him.  Now  the  old 
gentleman's  got  three  thousand  acres  of  land  and  all  he 
wants.  How's  that  for  an  early  settler  ?  " 

"Why,  pretty  good.  But  you  came  over  the  Plains 
yourself,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  I  was  but  a  little  shaver  then,  in  1845.  We 
came  by  way  of  the  Dalles." 

"What  sort  of  a  crowd  had  you  ?" 

"  Well,  there  was  my  father,  Nahum  his  name  was, 
and  my  four  brothers,  all  older  than  I  was,  and  there 
was  the  Watsons  and  the  Chambers  and  their  families 
in  the  company.  We  crossed  the  Plains  all  right  and 
got  to  the  Dalles.  There  were  thirteen  wagons  in  the 
party,  and  we  rafted  them  and  the  cattle  and  all  the 
rest  of  it  down  the  Columbia." 

"How  on  earth  did  you  make  a  raft  big  enough  ?" 

"Well,  we  just  cut  the  logs  in  the  woods  on  the 
edge  of  the  river,  and  rolled  them  in  and  pegged  them 
together  with  lighter  trees  laid  across.  It  took  us  about 
all  the  morning  to  get  out  into  the  current,  and  all  the 
afternoon  to  get  back  again.  But,  after  all,  we  got  to 
the  Cascades." 

"  How  did  you  get  past  them  ?  " 

"  We  had  to  just  put  the  wagons  together,  and  cut 
a  road  for  ourselves,  six  miles  round  the  portage,  till 


190  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

we  could  take  to  the  river  again.  Then  we  got  boats 
and  came  all  right  down  the  Columbia  and  up  the 
Willamette  past  where  Portland  now  stands." 

"Where  was  Portland  then  ?" 

"There  was  no  Portland,  I  tell  you — just  a  few 
houses  and  cabins.  I  forget  what  they  called  the  place. 
Anyhow,  we  got  pretty  soon  to  the  Tualitin  Plains, 
where  Forest-grove  Station  is  now,  and  there  we  passed 
that  first  winter  in  Oregon." 

"  Was  it  rough  on  you  ?  " 

"Well,  no — not  particularly.  All  the  lot  of  us 
crowded  into  one  little  cabin  ;  but  we  lived  pretty 
well." 

"What  did  you  live  on?" 

"  Well,  there  was  a  little  grist-mill  near  by,  and  the 
folks  had  raised  a  little  wheat  and  some  potatoes  and 
peas.  We  got  no  meat  at  all  that  winter.  The  next 
spring  we  came  on  into  King's  Valley  and  took  up  the 
old  place — you  know  where  I  showed  it  you — under  the 
hill." 

"Weren't  there  plenty  of  Indians  there  ?" 

"  Indians  !  I  should  think  so ;  about  two  or  three 
hundred  Klick-i-tats  were  camped  in  that  valley  then. 
Good  Indians  they  were,  tall,  and  straight  as  a  dart." 

"  Who  was  the  chief  ?" 

"  A  man  they  called  Quarterly.  When  we  came  in 
and  camped,  that  Indian  came  up  to  my  father  and 
said,  '  What  do  you  want  here  ? '  My  father  said,  '  We 
have  come  here  to  settle  down  and  farm  and  make  homes 
for  ourselves.'  'Well,'  says  the  Indian,  ' you  can;  if 
you  don't  meddle  with  us,  we  won't  hurt  you.'  No 
more  they  did  ;  we  never  had  a  cross  word  from  them." 

"  Was  the  country  theirs  ?  " 


INDIAN  HOUSES  AND   CUSTOMS.          191 

<f  Well,  no  ;  it  belonged  properly  to  the  Calipooias, 
and  these  Klick-i-tats  had  rented  it  off  them  for  some 
horses  and  cloths  and  things  for  a  hunting-ground." 

"Plenty  of  game?" 

"Just  lots  of  it;  elk  and  deer  plenty,  and  the 
bunch-grass  waist-high.  The  Indian  ponies  were  roll- 
ing fat ;  good  ponies  they  were,  too." 

"  What  sort  of  houses  had  these  Indians  ?  " 

"  The  Klick-i-tats  had  regular  lodges  :  sticks  set  in 
the  ground  in  a  circle  and  tied  together  at  the  top,  and 
covered  all  over  with  the  rush  mats  they  used  to  make. 
Good  workers  they  were,  too.  They  and  the  Calapooyas 
fell  out  once.  I  mind  very  well  one  day  the  Klick-i- 
tats  came  running  in  to  our  camp  to  say  there  was  ever 
such  a  lot  of  Calapooyas  coming  in  to  attack  them. 
They  sent  off  their  women  and  children  to  the  hills, 
and  then  drove  all  their  horses  down  to  our  camp. 
Strange,  wasn't  it,  they  should  think  their  stock  safer 
with  five  or  six  white  men  ?  There  must  have  been 
several  hundred  of  those  Calapooyas." 

"  Did  the  fight  come  off  ?  " 

"  Not  that  time  ;  they  made  it  up  with  some  pres- 
ents of  horses  and  beads  and  things." 

"  What's  become  of  those  Klick-i-tats  ?  " 

"  All  that's  left  of  them  are  gone  to  the  reservation 
away  north  on  the  Columbia.  They  had  their  big  fight 
with  the  Calapooyas  down  there  by  the  Mary  River 
bridge,  out  by  Wrenn's  school-house,  just  before  we 
came  into  the  country.  The  Calapooyas  were  too  many 
for  them,  for  they  were,  I  should  say,  three  to  one. 
That  was  quite  a  battle,  I  should  say. — But  here  comes 
one  of  the  early  settlers.  Why  don't  you  ask  him  about 

it?- 


192  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Just  then  the  door  had  been  opened,  and  in  came  a 
slender,  gray-haired  minister,  with  black  coat  and  white 
collar  and  tie. 

"  So  you  were  an  early  settler  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  had  some  experiences  in  early  days.  Did 
you  ever  hear  of  our  Presbyterian  colony  ?  " 

"I  think  not." 

"Well,  I  was  born  and  raised  in  Pennsylvania.  I 
had  just  finished  my  theological  course  and  got  mar- 
ried. I  had  heard  a  good  deal  about  Oregon,  and  took 
the  notion  of  getting  some  Presbyterians  to  go  out 
there.  This  was  in  1851,  when  the  law  had  been  passed 
giving  half  a  section  of  land  to  every  settler,  and  half 
another  section  for  his  wife,  if  he  had  one." 

"  How  did  you  set  about  getting  Presbyterians  to- 
gether ?  " 

"I  just  put  an  advertisement  in  the  Pennsylvania 
papers  that  a  Presbyterian  minister  intended  starting 
for  Oregon  in  the  spring  of  1852,  and  would  be  glad 
for  any  Presbyterians  to  join  him  and  found  a  colony 
there." 

"Did  you  get  many  answers  ?" 

"About  eighty  agreed  to  go,  but  a  good  many  weak- 
ened 'before  the  time  came,  and  only  about  forty  of 
them  started ;  some  twenty  came  in  afterward,  so  that 
our  party  was  sixty  strong.  When  we  left  St.  Joe,  in 
Missouri,  we  had  twenty  wagons.  I  had  a  nice  carriage 
with  four  mules  for  my  wife,  and  a  half-share  in  a 
wagon  and  ox-team.  We  left  St.  Joe  in  May,  1852, 
and  arrived  in  Oregon  four  months  and  a  half  after- 
ward." 

"Did  you  travel  all  the  time  ?" 

"We  laid  over  for  Sundays,  and  I  preached  every 


TEE  PRESBYTERIAN  COLONY.  193 

Sunday  on  the  journey  but  one,  when  we  were  cross- 
ing an  alkali  desert,  and  had  to  push  on  through  to 
water." 

"  Were  there  many  emigrants  on  the  road,  minister  ?" 
"  There  was  the  heaviest  emigration  to  Oregon  that 
year  that  there  has  ever  been.  Many  times  I  have 
climbed  a  hill  just  off  the  great  emigrant  trail,  and 
counted  a  hundred  wagons  and  more  ahead,  and  more 
than  a  hundred  behind  us. " 

"  Did  you  carry  any  feed  for  your  stock  ?  " 
"Not  any,  and  it  was  terribly  hard  on  stock,  as  the 
bunch-grass  on  and  near  the  trail  was  eaten  down  so 
close.  It  was  harder  on  the  oxen  than  on  the  mules. 
I  brought  all  my  mules  safe  into  Oregon,  but  only  one 
ox  out  of  our  team." 

"How  did  you  do  when  the  oxen  gave  out  ? "  ., 
"  Oh,  a  man  just  cut  his  wagon  in  half  and  hitched 
what  oxen  he  had  left  on  to  the  front  half,  and  left  the 
hinder  end  there  in  the  desert." 

"Did  you  have  trouble  with  the  Indians  ?" 
" None  at  all;  all  quiet  and  peaceable.  We  came 
into  Oregon  by  way  of  Boise  City,  Idaho,  and  Umatilla 
and  the  Dalles.  The  last  sixty  miles  my  wife  and  I 
walked  nearly  all  the  way,  for  the  mules  gave  out  cross- 
ing the  Cascades,  and  we  drove  them  before  us  into  this 
valley.  The  first  milk  and  butter  was  at  Foster's,  near 
Oregon  City  ;  but  one  old  lady  in  the  crowd  would  not 
eat  the  butter  her  son  had  bought  for  her :  she  said  it 
tasted  too  strong  of  silver." 

"  Where  did  you  settle  down  ?  " 
"About  three  miles  from  Corvallis,  or  Marysville, 
as  it  was  called  then.     Just  twelve  houses  in  the  place, 
and  two  of  them  stores." 


194:  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

"  What  did  you  do  for  a  house  ?  " 

"Just  set  to  and  built  one.  I  built  it  round  my 
wife  as  she  camped  in  the  middle.  I  cut  me  down  a 
big  fir-tree,  and  split  it  out  into  boards  and  shingles." 

"  What  was  this  valley  like  then  ?" 

"All  open  prairie.  A  man  could  drive  seventy 
miles  without  stopping — from  Salem  to  Eugene.  All 
this  oak-brush  has  grown  up  since." 

"What  became  of  your  Presbyterians  ?" 

"  Well,  we  organized  the  church  the  next  fall,  in 
1853,  with  just  seven  of  the  sixty  persons  who  had 
left  the  East  with  me  the  year  before.  So  you  see 
we  have  grown  a  good  deal  in  these  seven-and-twenty 
years," 

Here  the  minister  got  up  and  left  the  circle.  So  we 
turned  to  a  brown-coated,  cheery  fellow  in  the  next 
arm-chair.  "You  came  round  the  Horn,  didn't  you, 
Bush  ?  " 

But  the  cake  of  tobacco  had  to  be  got  out  of  a  deep 
pocket,  and  a  pipeful  slowly  cut  off  and  the  fresh  pipe 
started,  before  the  answer  came ;  and  then  a  great 
laugh  had  to  expend  its  force  over  the  merry  memories 
called  up  by  the  question. 

"We  had  a  pretty  rough  old  time  of  it,  hadn't  we, 
boys  ?  "  and  a  low  murmur  of  assent  ran  round,  and  all 
eyes  turned,  meditatively,  to  the  stove.  Presently  the 
answer  to  the  first  question  dropped  casually  out : 
"  Yes,  I  came  round  the  Horn.  I  had  been  whaling 
in  the  Pacific,  and  stopped  at  'Frisco ;  we  were  all  mad 
for  the  diggings.  One  day,  as  I  was  strolling  round,  I 
saw  a  great,  big  placard  on  the  wall,  in  letters  two  feet 
long  :  '  Ho  !  for  the  Umpqua  diggings  !  Lots  of  gold  ! 
Plenty  of  water  !  Good  grub  !  Fine  country  !  The 


TEE  "  WHALER"  SETTLER.  195 

well-known  schooner  Reindeer,  Captain  Bachelor,  will 
Bail  for  the  Umpqua,  October  the  15th,  1850  ! '  There 
were  four  of  us  in  my  party,  all  young  and  active  then, 
and  we  made  up  our  minds  to  go,  and  weren't  long 
about  deciding,  either.  We  were  up  to  roughing  it, 
too ;  you  see,  a  few  years  in  a  whaler  will  fit  you  for 
most  anything." 

"What  was  the  voyage  like  ?" 

"  Rough  !  There  were  ibout  one  hundred  and  thirty 
on  board  the  schooner,  some  for  the  Umpqua,  the  rest 
going  on  to  Portland.  After  knocking  about  at  sea  for 
a  few  days,  we  made  the  Umpqua  and  stood  in.  The 
old  man  anchored  just  under  the  north  beach.  As  I 
put  my  hand  on  the  cable,  it  was  like  a  bar  of  iron, 
and  I  felt  the  anchor  drag.  I  told  the  mate,  and  he 
went  and  called  the  captain.  Up  came  the  old  man, 
and  wouldn't  believe  it  at  first,  but  in  another  minute 
we  should  all  have  been  in  the  breakers,  and  nothing 
could  have  saved  us.  Just  then  a  little  boat  came  past 
and  they  hollered  out,  '  You'll  be  on  the  beach  inside  of 
three  minutes  ! '  I  tell  you  it  was  touch  and  go." 

"How  did  you  get  off,  Bush  ?" 

"  The  old  man  shouted  to  set  all  sail,  and  I  ran  to 
the  helm.  I  could  see  the  channel  pretty  well,  and  I 
just  steered  her  by  the  look  of  the  water.  We  just 
shaved  a  big  rock  by  three  feet  or  so,  and  ran  up 
the  river.  Presently  we  anchored  again  and  landed. 
Then  we  got  a  little  Indian  canoe  and  pulled  on  up 
the  river." 

"  What  was  the  country  like  ?" 

"Pretty  rough." 

"But  the  diggings,  Bush  ?" 

" Bless  you,  there  weren't  any  !    It  was  all  a  plant." 


196  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

"  Didn't  you  get  back  to  the  coast  ?" 

"  No,  sir,  we  were  in  for  it,  and  we  calculated  to  see 
it  out.  The  country  there,  in  Southern  Oregon,  pleased 
us  mightily,  it  looked  so  fresh  and  green  in  the  valleys, 
but  the  mountains  were  no  joke.  Then  we  heard  of 
this  Willamette  Valley,  and  traveled  on  north  to  find  it. 
Two  of  my  mates  staid  down  there  on  Eogue  Kiver 
for  the  winter,  but  one  came  on  north  with  me." 

"Any  adventures,  Bush  ? " 

"Not  particular.  I  mind  me,  though,  when  we 
got  up  to  where  Monroe  City  is  now,  there  was  one  log- 
house.  Old  Dr.  Kichardson  lived  there.  As  we  came 
to  the  house  he  came  out  and  stood  just  outside.  I 
tell  you  he  was  a  picture." 

"  What  like,  Bush  ?  " 

"  Well,  he  was  a  great,  big,  stout  fellow,  about  fifty, 
with  a  jolly  red  face.  He  had  on  a  buckskin  hunting- 
shirt  with  long  fringes,  and  long  buckskin  leggins,  and 
his  old  rifle  lay  ready  in  the  hollow  of  his  arm.  When 
we  stepped  up  to  him,  '  Well,  young  men,  and  what  do 
you  want  ? '  says  he.  '  We  should  like  to  stop  here  and 
get  some  dinner,'  says  I.  '  What  a  beautiful  place  you 
have  got  here,  sir  ! '  I  went  on,  *  and,  if  you'll  allow  me 
to  say  so,  I  just  admire  you  for  a  perfect  specimen  of  a 
backwoodsman.'  '  What ! '  says  he,  '  what  on  'arth  do 
you  mean,  you  young  thief  of  a  son-of-a-gun  ? '  says  he, 
stepping  up  to  me,  to  lay  hold  of  me  by  the  collar.  I 
tell  you,  sir,  I  thought  we  were  in  for  it,  and  he  was 
big  enough  to  whip  the  two  of  us.  As  good  luck  would 
have  it,  the  door  opened  just  then,  and  the  old  lady 
stepped  out.  She  just  looked  and  then  she  spoke  up. 
'  Old  man,'  says  she,  c  just  let  me  speak  to  these  young 
men.'  So,  she  came  and  asked  us  our  names  and  where 


UNCLE  LAZARUS.  197 

we  came  from,  and  I  explained  to  her  that  I  had  no  no- 
tion of  insulting  the  old  gentleman.  '  Oh,  well/  says 
she,  '  don't  mind  him  ;  and  now  what  can  I  do  for  you  ? 
You  seem  nice,  quiet  young  men/  So  she  gave  us 
some  bread  and  milk,  and  the  end  of  it  all  was,  they 
wanted  us  to  stay  all  winter  with  them." 

"  So  the  lady  helped  you  out,  as  usual,  Bush?" 
"  They  didn't  help  me  always.  For  the  next  place 
we  came  to  was  Starr's  settlement.  There  were  a  lot  of 
ladies,  quilting.  We  went  into  the  house  to  ask  if  there 
were  any  claims  to  be  had.  '  Are  you  married  ? '  says 
one  of  the  ladies.  '  No,  ma'am,'  says  I.  'Oh,  well, 
then,  you  can  just  get  on  ;  we  have  got  plenty  of  bach- 
elors already.  Stay,  are  you  a  school-teacher  ? '  says  she. 
I  thought  for  a  moment  if  an  old  whaleman  dared  vent- 
ure on  school-teaching,  but  I  thought,  maybe,  that 
was  a  leetle  too  strong.  'No,  ma'am,'  says  I,  at  last,  f  I 
am  not,  but  my  friend  here  is  well  qualified.'  '  Oh, 
well,'  says  she,  tfhe  can  stay  and  take  up  a  claim ;  we 
have  got  one  here  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
we  have  been  saving  up  for  the  school-teacher  ;  but  as 
for  you,  young  man,  you  can  jest  go  on  right  up  the  val- 
ley.' So  I  had  to  go  on  to  where  Corvallis  now  stands. 
There  were  just  four  or  five  log-cabins,  and  a  little  stock. 
I  took  up  a  claim  and  built  me  a  house,  and  as  I  was  a 
pretty  good  carpenter  I  got  all  the  work  I  wanted. — But 
here  comes  Uncle  Lazarus." 

Just  then  the  door  opened,  and  a  quaint  figure  en- 
tered. Let  us  sketch  him.  A  broad-brimmed,  low- 
crowned,  brown  beaver  hat  (and  when  we  say  broad- 
brimmed  we  mean  it— not  a  trifling  article  of  fifteen 
inches  or  so  across,  but  a  real,  sensible  sun-and-rain 
shade,  two  feet  or  thereabout  from  edge  to  edge) ;  an  old 


198  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

worn  blue  military  great-coat  covered  him ;  while  a 
mass  of  snow-white  hair  and  beard  framed  in  a  ruddy 
face  as  fresh  as  a  winter  apple,  and  a  pair  of  bright  blue 
eyes  twinkled  keenly,  but  with  a  hidden  laugh  in  them, 
from  under  the  broad  brim. 

"Sit  down,  uncle,"  cried  some  one,  and  the  old 
man  came  to  an  anchor  with  the  rest  of  us  round  the 
stove. 

"Talking  of  old  times,  uncle,"  we  said.  "You 
came  in  pretty  early,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"Well,  I  guess  it  was  in  1846,"  said  he,  in  a  plain- 
tive, slow  voice.  "We  came  over  the  Plains,  the  old 
lady  and  I,  from  Illinois.  We  had  a  pretty  good  ox- 
team,  and  we  got  through  safe." 

"  Did  you  have  any  fighting,  uncle  ?  " 

"Well,  no;  there  was  too  many  in  the  company 
when  we  started,  and  they  did  get  to  quarreling,  so  I 
jest  left  them  with  one  or  two  more — any  day  rather 
fight  than  have  a  fuss  ;  so  I  thought  we'd  jest  take  our 
chance  with  the  Injuns,  though  they  was  pretty  bad 
then.  We  were  nigh  to  six  months  on  the  road." 

"  Which  way  did  you  come  into  Oregon  ?" 

"  By  Klamath  Lake  and  Rogue  River.  The  worst 
piece  on  the  whole  journey  was  that  Rogue  River  ca- 
non ;  you  know  where  that  is  ?  " 

"  Yes,  uncle,  came  through  it  at  a  sharp  run  on  the 
California  stage  a  month  ago." 

"Well,  there  warn't  no  stage  then — no,  nor  road 
either.  You  know  it  is  about  eight  miles  long,  and  I 
calculate  you  might  go  a  quarter  of  a  mile  at  a  time  on 
the  bodies  of  the  horses  and  oxen  that  had  died  there. 
No  man  got  through  without  leaving  some  of  his  cattle 
there.  Tell  you,  sir,  when  you  once  got  into  the  place, 


CHANGED    CIRCUMSTANCES.  199 

seemed  like  there  was  no  end  to  it,  and  you  jest  got  to 
face  the  music  ;  for  there  warn't  no  other  way." 

"How  did  this  country  strike  you  when  you  got 
through?" 

"  Well,  the  old  lady  and  me  jest  thought  lots  of  it. 
"We  took  up  our  claims  in  King's  Valley — you  know  the 
place — jest  the  nicest  kind  of  a  place,  with  lots  of 
grass  and  a  nice  river.  You  had  all  the  timber  you 
wanted  on  the  mountains  close  by,  and  jest  lots  of  deer 
and  elk." 

"  Pretty  lonely,  though,  wasn't  it  ?  " 

"  Well,  it  was  kinder  lonely,  but  we  had  lots  to  do, 
and  the  time  passed  very  quick.  The  country  settled 
up  quick,  and  we  had  all  the  neighbors  we  wanted." 

"Any  trouble  with  Indians,  uncle  ?" 

"No;  the  Calapooyas  would  thieve  a  bit,  but  fifty 
of  them  cusses  would  jest  scare  from  five  or  six  of  us 
settlers  with  our  rifles.  And  the  Klick-i-tats  were  good 
Injuns,  and  never  troubled  us  any.  Those  were  good 
old  times,  boys."  And  the  old  man  rose  to  go,  with  a 
sigh. 

Think  of  the  change  the  old  gentleman  has  seen — 
for  he  lives  there  yet !  Now,  his  white  farmhouse,  with 
good  barn  and  out-buildings,  fronts  on  a  well-traveled 
road,  leading  past  many  a  neighbor's  house,  and  to  the 
church  and  village.  The  woods  on  the  hill-sides  have 
disappeared,  and  the  ruled  furrows  of  the  wheat-fields 
have  replaced  the  native  grass  ;  the  elk  and  deer  which 
found  him  food  as  well  as  sport  have  retired  shyly  away 
into  the  far-off  fastnesses  round  Mary's  Peak  and  in 
the  "  green  timber,"  and  the  fleecy  flocks  have  usurped 
their  place.  The  thievish  Calapooyas  and  good  Klick-i- 
tats  have  lost  their  tribal  connections,  and  their  shrunk- 


200  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

en  remnants  have  been  shifted  away  north  to  the  In- 
dian reserve.  As  you  stand  on  the  hill  above  his  house, 
and  the  vision  ranges  over  the  gentle  outlines  of  King's 
Valley,  dotted  with  farms  and  lined  with  fences,  it  is 
but  the  noble  forms  of  the  distant  mountains  that  could 
identify  the  scene  with  that  which  he  scanned  with  way- 
worn eye  as  he  halted  his  weary  oxen  after  his  six 
months'  journey  from  distant  Illinois. 


CHAPTEE  XVII. 

State  and  county  elections— The  Chinese  question— Chinese  house-ser- 
vants —  Washermen  —  Laborers — A  large  camp  —  Supper — Chinese 
trading — The  scissors — Cost  of  Chinese  labor — Its  results — Chinese 
treaties — Household  servants — Ghee  and  his  mistress — u  Heap  deb- 
ble-y  in  there" — The  photo  album — Temptation — A  sin  and  its  re- 
ward—Good advice  on  whipping— Chung  and  the  crockery— Chinese 
New  Year—  Gifts— "  Hoodlums  "—Town  police— Opium. 

Itf  the  summer  of  1880  there  occurred  an  election  of 
Senators  and  Eepresentatives  to  the  State  Legislature, 
and  also  to  the  county  offices  of  clerk,  sheriff,  assessor, 
coroner,  surveyor,  and  commissioners. 

The  whole  apparatus  of  caucuses  and  canvasses  was 
put  in  operation,  and  the  candidates  nominated  on  both 
Eepublican  and  Democratic  "tickets"  perambulated 
the  county,  and  addressed  audiences  in  every  precinct 
from  the  "stump." 

The  Greenbackers  had  the  courage  of  their  opinions 
and  put  candidates  in  the  field.  Indeed,  one  of  the 
precincts  in  the  burned- woods  country,  of  which  I  have 
already  discoursed,  enjoyed  the  proud  distinction  of 
casting  more  votes  for  the  "  Greenback  "  candidate  than 
loi  either  of  the  two  great  parties. 

I  attended  some  of  these  meetings  and  listened  to 
the  stump-speeches  with  much  interest.  That  which 
caused  the  current  of  eloquence  on  all  hands  to  run 
fastest  was  the  Chinese  question.  How  vehemently 
have  I  heard  denounced  the  yellow-faced,  pig-eyed, 


202  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

and  tailed  Mongolians  who  were  •  spreading  like  lo- 
custs over  the  face  of  the  country,  and  ousting  the 
poor  but  honest  and  industrious  white  laborer  from 
those  employments  to  which  he  is  specially  adapted 
— how  they  sucked  the  life-blood  of  the  people  in  order 
to  carry  their  ill-gotten  gains  across  the  seas  ;  how 
their  barbarous  language  and  filthy  social  habits  "riz 
the  dander  "  of  these  orators,  while  the  audience  loudly 
applauded  every  strong  stroke  of  the  brush  !  At  the 
torch-light  processions  which  closed  some  of  the  even- 
ing meetings,  transparencies  were  carried  about  by  citi- 
zens staggering  under  their  weight,  which  depicted 
Chinamen  in  various  conditions  of  terror  flying  from 
the  boot-tips  of  energetic  Americans  ;  or,  on  the  oppo- 
site back,  the  poor  but  honest  white  man  prostrate  on 
the  ground,  while  a  fat  Chinaman  sat  heavily  on  his 
breast. 

Such  an  obvious  current  of  popular  opinion  set  an 
on-looker  to  rub  his  eyes,  and  feel  if  he  were  dreaming. 

For,  go  into  nearly  every  house  inhabited  by  a 
family,  in  or  near  any  town  in  the  State,  and  you  will 
find  one  or  more  Chinamen  doing  the  house-service. 
"Walk  through  the  streets,  and  you  will  meet  a  blue- 
coated  Asiatic  with  a  big  clothes-basket  of  clean  linen 
on  his  shoulders.  Here  and  there  in  the  streets  hangs 
a  sign  :  "Hop  Kee,"  "  Sam  Lin,"  "Lee  Chung,"  "Ah 
Sin,"  "Washing,"  or  "Chinese  Laundry,"  and  "La- 
bor provided,"  or  "Intelligence-Office,"  and  through 
the  steamy  windows  you  catch  a  glimpse  of  white-shirted 
Chinamen,  bending  over  their  ironing,  and  a  mixed 
gabble  of  strange  "  Ahs"  and  "  Yuhs"  strikes  the  c;ir 
as  you  pass  by. 

I  went  up  the  Columbia  River  to  the   Dalles  the 


CHINESE  TRADING.  203 

other  day.  At  the  Dalles  was  a  camp  for  the  night  of 
about  five  hundred  Chinamen,  being  transferred  by  the 
Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company  from  work 
higher  up  the  river  to  some  of  the  heavy  rock-cutting 
and  tunneling  between  the  Dalles  and  the  Lower  Cas- 
cades. I  stood  and  watched  them  at  their  suppers. 
Divided  into  messes  of  twelve  or  fifteen  each,  they  had 
supplied  themselves  with  beef  in  the  town.  Holes  were 
dug  in  the  ground,  sticks  lighted  in  them,  and  large 
pans  set  on  to  boil,  and,  with  plenty  of  salt  and  pepper, 
a  savory  smell  soon  arose.  Large  pans  of  rice  were  boil- 
ing by  the  side,  and  before  long  each  man's  portion  was 
ladled  out  into  a  real  China  basin,  which  he  held  in  one 
hand  close  to  his  mouth,  while  the  chop-sticks  moved 
at  a  terrible  rate  in  the  fingers  of  the  other  hand.  Such 
uncouth  figures  ! — bronzed  in  tint,  short  and  heavy  in 
form,  clad  in  thick  blanket-coats,  with  knee-boots  ; 
turbans  round  most  heads  made  of  heavy  scarlet  woolen 
comforters,  and  a  few  old  hats  among  the  crowd  ;  and 
a  constant  gabble  of  voices,  nearly  deafening  in  the 
aggregate.  Their  little  tents  were  pitched  on  the  river- 
bank  close  at  hand,  and  a  huge  pile  of  their  unmistak- 
able baggage  lay  heaped,  with  their  shovels  and  axes,  on 
the  deck  of  the  great  scow  hard  by.  The  town  was  full 
of  them,  buying  or  bargaining  in  every  store.  I  marked 
a  group  of  four  who  wanted  a  pair  of  strong  scissors. 
They  were  asked  fifty  cents  in  a  store.  They  examined 
the  scissors  and  tried  to  cheapen  them  in  vain,  and  then 
left.  They  tried  four  stores  in  turn,  but  found  no 
better  article,  and  the  same  price ;  then  returned  to 
their  first  love,  and  strove  hard  for  a  reduction  in  vain. 
Again  they  went  the  round  ;  again  they  came  back  : 
on  the  fourth  visit  the  patience  of  the  Jewish  gentle- 


201  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

man  behind  the  counter  gave  way,  and  he  told  them  to 
take  it  or  leave  it,  they  should  not  see  the  scissors  again. 
Most  unwillingly,  and  after  a  vast  amount  of  breathing 
on  the  blades  to  see  how  quickly  the  vapor  disappeared, 
the  half-dollar  came  forth  and  the  scissors  changed 
owners.  They  are  the  closest  buyers  in  the  world. 
The  next  morning  by  seven  o'clock  the  tents  were 
struck,  the  Chinamen  on  board  the  steamer,  and  in  the 
afternoon  we  passed  them  hard  at  work,  spread  in  a 
long  line  on  the  face  of  a  terrible  rock,  which  looked 
as  if  five  thousand  Chinamen  might  work  at  it  in  vain 
for  a  year  to  make  a  fit  passage  for  the  train. 

But  without  them  how  would  these  great  works  get 
done  ?  Later  on  I  intend  describing  some  of  the  under- 
takings in  progress  in  the  State.  Delay  in  them — still 
worse,  the  stoppage  of  them — would  be  a  calamity  in- 
deed. After  all,  the  Chinamen  work  for  about  eighty 
or  ninety  cents  a  day,  and  out  of  this  sum  the  con- 
tractor has  to  find  them  food.  The  food,  save  the  rice, 
is  purchased  in  the  State ;  the  material  of  the  clothes 
they  wear  is  manufactured  and  sold  in  the  United 
States ;  the  tools  they  work  with  also.  So  that  it  is 
only  the  profit  on  their  labor's  price  which  goes  to 
China ;  and  some  of  that  goes  to  pay  their  passage  in 
the  ships  which  transport  them  to  and  fro.  And  their 
labor  remains — its  results  felt  by  every  passenger  and 
freighter  on  the  railroads,  and  every  Oregonian  directly 
or  indirectly  interested  in  increasing  the  population  of 
the  State. 

Naturally,  it  is  easy  to  have  too  much  Chinaman. 
I  should  grieve  to  see  them  multiply  so  as  to  dominate 
the  State.  Excellent  servants,  but  bad  masters. 

And  by  all  means  let  us  have  treaties  with  China 


"HEAP  DEBBLE-Y  IN  THERE!"1          205 

to  enable  the  influx  of  these  Mongolians  to  be  regulated. 
Already  we  have  laws  forbidding  the  employment  of 
Chinamen  on  government  or  municipal  public  works. 
And  I  do  not  see  that  there  is  any  economy  in  the 
working  or  superiority  in  the  labors  on  such  under- 
takings. 

For  household  service  on  this  coast  they  are  simply 
indispensable.  They  receive  high  wages :  for  a  good 
Chinese  cook  you  must  pay  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
dollars  a  month.  A  laundryman  and  house-servant  can 
be  had  for  somewhat  less.  But  our  experience  and  ob- 
servation lead  us  to  the  knowledge  that  two  Chinese 
servants  will  do  well  the  work  of  four  English  servants. 
Another  thing  is  that,  having  learned  to  cook  any 
special  dish,  you  may  be  sure  of  having  it  always  there- 
after equally  good. 

If  they  are  a  bother  sometimes  by  not  comprehend- 
ing orders,  they  make  up  for  it  by  quaint  ways.  An 
English  neighbor  of  ours  has  one  Chee,  a  boy  of  sixteen, 
as  house-servant,  and  a  very  good  cook  and  general 
servant  she  has  made  of  him.  Chee  and  his  mistress  are 
on  the  best  of  terms  usually  ;  sometimes  they  fall  out. 

The  mistress  was  staying  with  us  for  a  few  days 
once,  while  her  husband  was  out  hunting  in  the  hills, 
and  she  preferred  sleeping  in  her  own  house.  This 
Chee  strongly  disapproved,  as  it  involved  his  going  up 
to  make  the  bed  and  clean  the  house,  instead  of  having 
high-jinks  in  the  China  house  down  in  the  town.  When 
his  mistress  went  into  the  house,  Chee  pointed  into  her 
bedroom,  and  in  a  mysterious  voice  warned  her  thus : 
"Heap  debble-y  in  there.  Sometime  I  make  bed,  I 
see  four,  fi'  debble-y  go  under  bed.  Some  time  come 
catch  you  in  night ! " 


206  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Another  time,  his  master  and  mistress  being  out, 
Chee  amused  himself  with  their  photograph-album. 
They  found  many  of  the  pictures  shifted,  and  one 
charming  young  lady  missing.  Chee  stoutly  denied  it 
all,  and  swore  he  never  saw  the  picture.  So  his  "  boss," 
Hop  Kee,  was  appealed  to.  In  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day  Hop  Kee  appeared  with  a  second  Chinaman. 
This  man  produced  the  missing  photograph  for  iden- 
tification, and  then  Hop  Kee  disappeared  into  Chee's 
kitchen  and  administered  a  hearty  beating  to  the  cul- 
prit. When  Hop  Kee  reappeared,  panting,  his  com- 
panion explained  and  apologized  thus:  "Chee  heap 
bad  boy ;  but  he  no  steal  um  ;  he  heap  love  um  picture  ; 
he  sew  um  up  his  bed." 

Another  time  Chee  was  pottering  about  in  the  gar- 
den when  his  mistress  called  him.  He  would  not  an- 
swer, so  she  called  him  again,  and  this  was  the  conver- 
sation : 

"Chee,  come  here."  "Heap  tired  in  foot;  can' 
walk."  "Chee,  come  here  directly."  Chee  comes  and 
gets  his  orders.  "  Wha'  for  you  can'  talk  me  there  ?" 
"Chee,  you  must  not  answer  me  like  that ;  you  speak 
as  if  I  were  a  dog."  "Well,  you  allee  same  likee 
one  dog  !"  "Chee,  how  dare  you  ?  I  tell  Hop  Kee 
what  you  say."  "  I  no  care."  But  Hop  Kee  comes  that 
afternoon  and  hears  the  sad  accusation,  and  this  is  his 

advice :  "Mrs. ,  you  heap  takee  some  poker;  you 

beat  him.  I  heap  much  obliged.  Chee  no  good  ;  you 
whip  um." 

Chee  asks  for  his  wages,  and  even  for  some  in  ad- 
vance. "What  for  you  want  money,  Chee?"  "I 
want  fi'teen  dollar."  "What  for,  Chee  ?"  "I  want 
buy  one  big  watch."  "  How  big,  Chee  ?"  "  Heap  big 


CHINESE  NEW  YEAR.  207 

watch ;  be  weigh  ha'  pound."  And  I  believe  it  does 
weigh  half  a  pound. 

One  of  our  Chinamen,  Chung,  was  a  sad  breaker  of 
crockery.  We  bore  it  patiently  in  spite  of  the  loss,  for 
stone-ware  is  terribly  dear  here.  But  one  day  there  was 
an  awful  smash,  and  we  ran  out  to  see  Chung  wringing 
his  hands  over  a  tray  on  the  ground,  with  broken  cups 
and  plates  all  about.  We  said  nothing ;  but  the  next 
day  he  went  of  his  own  accord,  and  at  his  own  cost 
replaced  the  greater  part. 

All  the  house-servants  expect  a  holiday  for  a  day  or 
two  at  the  Chinese  new  year,  which  occurs  about  the 
20th  of  January.  It  is  a  mark  of  good  breeding  and 
condition  with  them  to  give  presents  at  that  time  to 
every  one  in  the  house.  A  little  cabinet  of  lacquer- 
work  to  the  lady  of  the  house,  a  fan  in  sandaLwood  or 
ivory,  one  or  two  flowered  silk  handkerchiefs,  a  pot  of 
sweetmeats,  and  two  or  three  boxes  of  the  inevitable 
Chinese  crackers  for  the  children,  make  up  the  list. 

Each  of  the  China  houses  in  the  town  collects  al) 
the  Chinamen  that  make  it  their  headquarters,  and  pre^ 
pares  a  magnificent  supper.  They  spare  no  expense  on 
this  occasion  ;  all  the  chickens  in  the  neighborhood  are 
slaughtered,  and  the  sweet  Chinese  wine  flows  freely. 
Even  a  drunken  Chinaman  may  be  met  in  the  street, 
staggering  from  one  China  house  to  another,  and  he 
will  very  likely  be  mobbed  by  all  the  "hoodlums"  in 
the  town,  pelting  and  hustling  him. 

"  Hoodlums" — a  fine  word  this  to  describe  the  vaga- 
bond, rough  hobble-de-hoys  that  swarm  in  these  West- 
ern towns  ;  lads  too  big  for  school,  too  lazy  to  work,  an 
incumbrance  to  their  families,  a  nuisance  to  all  their 
neighbors.  I  am  told  that  the  word  originated  in  San 


208  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Francisco  twenty  years  ago.  There  were  there  gangs 
of  these  rough  lads  who  hung  about  the  wharves,  ready 
for  riot  or  plunder  as  occasion  offered.  Against  them 
the  police  of  the  city  waged  a  constant  war.  These 
Arabs  had  various  haunts  among  the  hovels  and  sheds, 
the  piles  of  lumber  and  rubbish,  that  deface  the  water- 
side of  every  growing  and  unfinished  city.  When  the 
police  appeared,  "  Huddle-um! "  was  the  watchword  that 
sent  every  skulker  to  cover.  But  the  Irish  element 
pronounced  the  watchword  with  a  rounder  sound,  and 
so  ' '  Hoodlum  ! "  caught  the  ear  of  the  passer-by,  and 
soon  was  adopted  as  the  label  of  the  tribe. 

The  police  of  our  town  is  represented  by  the  city 
marshal  and  his  deputy,  who  act  under  the  authority  of 
the  mayor  and  the  city  council.  The  "calaboose"  is 
the  lock-up  for  offenders ;  and  work  on  the  streets  in 
irons  is  also  a  punishment  which  may  be  awarded  by 
the  recorder  for  offenses  against  the  city  laws  and  regu- 
lations. Drunkenness  and  opium-smoking  are  in  this 
black  list.  Passers-by  were  edified,  a  few  days  ago,  by 
the  spectacle  of  one  white  man,  for  drunkenness,  and 
two  Chinamen,  for  opium-smoking,  shoveling  away  at 
the  mud,  and  ornamented  with  iron  ball  and  shackles. 
It  is  strange  to  find  that  opium-smoking  in  these  dens 
is  not  altogether  confined  to  the  Chinese,  but  some  de- 
graded white  men  are  occasionally  captured  by  the  mar- 
shal in  a  raid  on  a  China  house.  Such  are  not  only 
punished,  but  scouted,  and  still  they  repeat  the  of- 
fense, proving  the  hold  the  practice  gains  when  once 
yielded  to. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Life  in  the  town — Sociables — Keligious  sects— Sabbath-schools — Christ- 
mas, festivities — Education,  how  far  compulsory — Colleges — Student- 
life  and  education — Common  schools — Teachers'  institutes — News- 
papers—  Patent  outsides  —  "The  Oregonian" — Other  journals  — 
Charities — Paupers — Secret  societies. 

LIFE  in  these  country  towns  possesses  some  features 
strange  to  a  new-comer.  Every  family,  almost  with- 
out exception,  is  allied  with  some  church  organization. 
The  association  of  such  families  in  religious  matters 
gives  the  connecting  bond  they  need.  Not  contented 
with  worshiping  together  on  Sundays,  they  often  meet 
in  church  sociables  and  in  school  entertainments  and 
concerts,  for  which  purposes  the  church-building  is  very 
commonly  used. 

To  get  up  a  " sociable"  is  a  pleasant  task  for  the 
matrons  of  the  church.  Having  settled  on  the  day, 
they  meet  and  agree  for  how  many  it  is  likely  they  must 
provide.  Then  each  lady  undertakes  her  share,  finding 
so  much  tea,  coffee,  and  sugar,  and  so  many  sandwiches 
and  cakes.  It  is  a  delicate  compliment  for  outsiders 
also  to  contribute  a  cake  to  the  common  fund.  Then, 
the  evening  having  come,  the  company  begin  to  meet, 
generally  about  seven  o'clock,  and  are  reqeived  by  the 
ladies  of  the  congregation.  Every  one  is  made  wel- 
come. The  object  of  the  "  sociable,"  so  far  as  money- 
getting  is  concerned,  is  met  either  by  a  small  charge 


210  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

for  refreshments  as  supplied,  or  by  a  charge  for  admis- 
sion, making  the  visitor  free  of  the  room. 

When  the  tea  or  supper  is  finished,  there  is  a  fine 
flow  of  talk,  as  all  tongues  are  loosened.  Then  follows 
music,  either  as  solos  by  such  as  venture  to  make  so 
public  an  appearance,  or  in  duets,  glees,  or  choruses 
provided  by  the  church  choir.  Interspersed  with  the 
music  are  recitations,  readings,  or  short  lectures.  The 
recitations  are  as  commonly  given  by  young  ladies  as  by 
the  other  sex ;  and  the  most  awful  and  tragic  pieces  are 
decidedly  the  favorites.  A  good  deal  of  gesture  and  ac- 
tion is  approved. 

Generally,  a  few  words  from  the  minister  of  the 
church  close  the  entertainment,  and  the  audience  sep- 
arate about  ten  o'clock,  all  the  better  for  the  "  sociable." 

The  comparatively  trifling  differences  which  serve 
to  keep  one  sect  separate  from  another,  result  in  a  num- 
ber of  small  congregations  and  weak  "interests" — and 
also,  I  think,  react  injuriously  on  the  education  and 
condition  of  the  various  ministers.  And  I  do  not  see 
any  progress  toward  obliterating  differences  and  com- 
bining scattered  forces  against  the  common  foes  of  in- 
difference, irreligion,  and  vice  ;  rather,  I  notice  in  the 
meetings  or  conventions  attended  by  representatives  or 
delegates  from  the  various  congregations  of  a  special 
sect,  and  held  annually  in  some  central  place,  a  dis- 
position to  insist  on  differences,  and  enforce  the  teach- 
ing of  each  special  set  of  distinctive  doctrines  on  the 
young. 

Outside  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  which,  of  course, 
possesses  and  uses  its  own  liturgy,  the  services  of  the 
other  Christian  sects  are  almost  exactly  similar ;  I  ex- 
cept also  the  Eoman  Catholics,  who  are  present  in  the 


CHRISTMAS  FESTIVITIES.  211 

State  of  Oregon  in  considerable  numbers,  and  whose 
organization  of  archbishop,  bishops,  priests,  and  sisters 
is  as  perfect  as  usual.  But  I  have  reference  to  Pres- 
byterians, Congregationalists,  Methodists,  North  and 
South,  Baptists,  Evangelicals — the  order  of  their  ser- 
vices is  about  the  same,  and  unless  by  chance  you  were 
present  on  some  occasion  for  enforcing  the  special  doc- 
trines of  the  sect,  you  could  not  determine  to  which  be- 
longed the  particular  church  in  which  you  might  be 
worshiping. 

The  institution  of  the  Sabbath-school  is  not  similar 
to  that  pursued  in  England,  at  any  rate.  The  church 
is  opened  at  a  special  hour  for  Sabbath-school,  and  the 
children  attend  in  numbers  ;  the  minister  of  the  church 
holds  a  service  for  the  special  benefit  of  the  young,  but 
adults  are  also  present.  There  is  not  the  division  into 
classes,  and  the  enlisting  of  the  efforts  of  teachers  for 
those  classes,  which  we  have  seen  elsewhere. 

Christmas  is  chiefly  marked  by  the  Christmas-trees 
which  are  so  commonly  provided  ;  the  religious  sig- 
nificance of  the  day  is  hardly  enforced  at  all.  But  tho 
great  Christmas-trees  arranged  by  a  congregation, 
lighted  up  in  the  church  or  school-room,  and  hung 
with  presents  contributed  by  each  family  for  its  own 
individual  members,  and  only  brought  to  the  com- 
mon tree  that  the  joy  of  donor  and  receiver  might  be 
alike  shared  in  by  friends,  are  a  pretty  and  a  happy 
sight. 

And  this  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  towns.  The 
various  precincts  of  the  county  have  each  their  head- 
quarters at  the  common  school-house,  and  in  many  of 
these  Christmas-trees  are  provided  ;  and,  if  the  gifts  are 
less  in  money  cost  than  those  hung  round  the  city  Christ- 


212  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

mas-trees,  they  are  none  the  less  worth  if  got  by  so  many 
hours  of  country  work,  and  brought  over  many  a  weary 
mile  of  muddy  road,  and  treasured  in  the  old  trunk 
among  the  Sunday  garments  till  the  happy  day  came 
round,  and  the  Christmas  frost  hung  the  fir-trees 
with  their  sparkling  load,  and  glazed  the  old  black  logs 
and  gray  snake-fences  with  their  glittering  covering 
of  ice. 

A  common  notion  prevails  that  education  here  is 
compulsory.  It  is  compulsory  in  the  sense  that  facili- 
ties by  way  of  school-houses  and  trained  teachers,  and 
superintendence  by  committees  and  clerks,  are  provided 
by  the  State,  and  paid  for  by  the  counties  from  the 
county  tax.  It  is  not  compulsory  in  the  sense  that  so 
many  hours  of  school  attendance  can  be  enforced  against 
parents  or  children  by  the  public  authority.  Much  is 
done  ;  a  strong  and  general  interest  is  shown ;  expense 
is  not  spared,  even  where  expenditure  is  severely  felt ; 
but  still  many  children  both  in  town  and  country  escape 
the  educational  net.  There  is  a  State  Superintendent 
of  Education  ;  there  are  county  superintendents ;  there 
are  many  schools  and  teachers  ;  and  there  are  universi- 
ties and  colleges,  with  good  staffs  of  professors,  and  a 
very  high  and  wide  course  of  studies  in  all.  But  very 
much  remains  to  be  done. 

There  is  far  too  much  effort  at  variety  rather  than 
thoroughness  in  study.  However  hard  both  professors 
and  students  may  labor,  it  can  not  be  possible  in  a  four- 
years'  course  to  fill  a  lad,  who  has  previously  had  but  a 
common-school  education,  with  a  satisfactory  knowledge 
of  Latin,  high  mathematics,  Euclid,  history,  English 
grammar  and  composition,  chemistry,  organic  and  inor- 
ganic, geography,  geology,  mechanics,  electricity,  polar- 


TEACHERS'  INSTITUTES.  213 

ization  of  light,  and  various  other  studies  usually  re- 
quired for  the  master  of  arts  honors  examination  in  a 
British  university.  But  this  is  attempted  here. 

And,  moreover,  this  extensive  course  is  carried  on 
in  the  State  Agricultural  College  as  well  as  in  the  uni- 
versities of  the  State.  It  can  hardly  be  said  that  the 
name  of  "  agricultural "  is  earned,  since  there  is  nothing 
in  the  studies  here  engaged  in  to  distinguish  this  from 
any  other  high-class  college  in  the  State. 

The  course  followed  in  the  common  school  is  open 
to  much  the  same  criticism — too  much  of  the  ornament- 
al, too  little  of  the  thorough  and  solid,  being  instilled. 
This  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at  when  it  is  considered 
that  the  teachers  in  the  common  schools  are  taken  prin- 
cipally from  the  students  of  the  colleges  or  universi- 
ties, whose  learning  is  of  the  class  above  described. 
There  is  a  great  need  of  a  normal  school,  where  teachers 
can  be  specially  trained  for  that  work ;  as  it  is  now,  a 
young  fellow  is  ready  to  "teach  school"  for  a  year  or 
two  for  want  of,  or  on  his  way  to,  his  intended  niche 
in  life. 

The  scale  of  payments  at  the  schools  is  moderate 
enough,  but  a  large  item  of  expense  is  in  the  school- 
books  :  they  are  dear,  their  use  is  compulsory,  they  have 
to  be  purchased  by  the  scholars,  and  they  are  frequently 
changed  by  the  Board  of  Education. 

One  great  means  by  which  it  is  sought  at  once  to 
instruct,  amuse,  and  infuse  the  school-teachers  with 
common  ideas  and  sympathies  is  by  "teachers'  insti- 
tutes." In  each  county  a  time  is  fixed  by  the  State 
Superintendent  of  Education,  and  for  two  or  three 
days  all,  or  as  many  as  can  be  got  together  of  the 
teachers  in  the  county,  are  gathered  in  some  central 


214:  TWO    TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

town,  and  for  two  or  three  days  have  constant  meetings. 
This  occurs  annually. 

The  most  experienced  teachers  give  illustrations 
of  their  favorite  methods  of  instruction  in  the  various 
subjects,  and  free  discussion  on  these  matters  fol- 
lows. 

The  days  are  devoted  to  this  practical  work,  and  in 
the  evenings  some  more  general  entertainment  is  pro- 
vided in  the  shape  of  music,  lectures,  or  readings,  and 
these  are  thrown  open  to  the  public.  At  one  of  these 
the  lecturer,  who  was  one  of  the  professors  at  the  Mon- 
mouth  College,  descanted  on  the  high  general  standard 
of  educational  attainments  in  this  Willamette  Valley. 
He  pointed  out,  in  proof,  that  whereas  through  the 
United  States  the  population  supported  one  newspaper 
to  each  eight  hundred,  in  this  valley  the  proportion  was 
one  to  three  hundred  or  thereabout. 

I  found  on  inquiry  that  the  figures  were  about  cor- 
rect. And  the  fact  is,  that  it  is  only  in  the  newspa- 
pers that  the  country  people  find  nearly  all  their  litera- 
ture, and  that  barely  a  farmer  can  be  found  who  does 
not  regularly  take  three  or  more  papers,  and  this  makes 
the  continued  lives  of  these  papers  possible.  A  town  of 
a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred  inhabitants  will  support 
two  or  even  three  papers.  How  is  it  done  ?  Examine 
one  of  these  papers  and  you  will  find  the  outside  pages 
better  printed  than  the  inside,  and  filled  with  a  special 
sort  of  romantic  stories,  and  short  bits  of  general  infor- 
mation ;  extracts  from  magazines  and  from  Eastern  or 
English  newspapers.  The  inside  pages  have  the  true 
local  color.  Here  you  will  see  the  leader,  devoted  to  the 
topics  of  the  time  and  place  ;  descanting  on  the  railroad 
news  of  the  day  ;  expressing  the  editor's  opinions  on 


NEWSPAPERS.  215 

the  rates  of  freight  or  passage,  or  on  the  advantages  his 
town  offers  for  establishing  new  industries  ;  or  criticis- 
ing the  recent  appointment  of  postmaster.  Then  the 
correspondence  from  various  outlying  towns  or  villages, 
written  very  often  by  the  schoolmaster,  and  abounding 
in  literary  allusions  and  quotations.  And  then  comes 
the  amazing  feature  of  the  paper — a  column  or  two  are 
devoted  to  "locals."  This  is  the  style:  "Beautiful 
weather.  New  York  sirup  at  Thompson's.  The  spring 
plowing  is  nearly  done.  Use  the  celebrated  XL  flour,  the 
best  in  the  market.  Mrs. has  been  in ,  attend- 
ing to  the  woman  -  suffrage  question,  the  past  week. 
Our  thanks  are  due  to  two  fair  ladies  for  bouquets  of 
spring  flowers,  the  first  of  the  season.  Our  young  friend 

Pete  M called  on  us  yesterday ;  good  boy  Pete. 

Judge  Henry  was  at  Salem  the  past  week.  Miss  Addie 
Bines  is  visiting  friends  in  town.  Did  you  see  that  bon- 
net at  the  Presbyterian  church  on  Sunday  ?  The  acci- 
dental pistol  -  shot  the  sheriff  got  is  pretty  bad.  The 
rates  of  board  at  the  Cosmopolitan  Hotel  are  five  dol- 
lars a  week ;  three  meals  for  a  dollar.  The  Odd-Fel- 
lows will  give  a  ball  on  the  25th.  Our  vociferous 

friend  Sam  N is  starting  for  Puget  Sound."     And 

so  on. 

I  observe  and  I  hear  that  these  locals  are  by  far  the 
best-read  portion  of  the  paper.  A  variety  of  items  of 
scraps  from  the  neighborhood,  and  advertisements,  the 
longest  of  which  relate  to  patent  medicines  of  all  sorts, 
fill  up  these  two  inner  pages  of  the  paper.  The  secret 
of  cheap  production  lies  in  obtaining  the  paper,  with 
the  two  outside  pages  ready  printed,  from  an  office  in 
Poitland,  which  supplies  in  this  way  twenty  or  thirty 

of  these  little  newspapers.     Thus  the  cost  to  the  editor 
10 


216  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

is  reduced  to  the  getting-up  of  the  two  inner  pages, 
and,  as  will  be  seen,  not  a  very  high  level  of  brain- 
power is  needed. 

"The  Oregonian"  is  the  only  journal  in  the  State 
giving  the  latest  telegrams.  Naturally  it  is  published 
in  Portland,  and  devoted  mainly  to  the  interests  of  that 
city.  It  is  connected  with  the  Associated  Press,  and 
possesses  the  practical  monopoly  of  the  supply  of  news, 
properly  so  called.  Professing  to  be  Eepublican  in  poli- 
tics, it  assumes  the  liberty  of  advocating  doctrines  and 
supporting  candidates  for  office  in  direct  violation  of 
the  acknowledged  principles  of  the  party  and  the  wishes 
of  the  party  managers.  With  a  parade  of  fairness,  and 
willingness  to  admit  to  its  columns  views  and  commu- 
nications opposing  the  ideas  it  may  be  advocating  at 
the  time,  it  takes  care  to  color  matters  in  such  form  as  to 
pervert  or  weaken  all  opposing  or  criticising  matter. 
It  is  bitterly  hostile  to  every  movement  in  the  Willa- 
mette Valley  tending  toward  independence  of  Portland's 
money  power  and  influence.  While  professing  to  desire 
the  development  of  the  State,  it  reads  that  to  mean 
solely  the  aggrandizement  of  Portland.  It  enjoys  a 
happy  facility  of  conversion,  and  will  unblushingly 
advocate  to-day  the  adoption  of  measures  it  denounced 
last  week.  Unreliable  in  everything  except  its  tele- 
graphic news,  and  oftentimes  seeking  to  color  them  by 
suggestive  head-notes  and  capital  announcements,  it  is 
a  calamity  to  the  State  that  its  chief  journal  should  be 
at  once  the  most  unpopular  at  home  and  the  most  mis- 
leading abroad. 

Of  course,  "  The  Oregonian"  is  not  the  only  journal 
professing  to  be  of  and  for  the  State  at  large.  Several 
are  published  at  Portland  claiming  the  character  of 


SECRET  SOCIETIES.  217 

general  State  interest.  Such  are  the  "  Willamette 
Farmer,"  a  journal  chiefly  devoted  to  the  farming  inter- 
est, and  with  which  "  The  Oregonian"  is  very  frequently 
at  war;  "The  New  Northwest/'  edited  by  Mrs.  Duni- 
way,  a  lady  enthusiast  in  favor  of  woman's  rights  and 
woman's  suffrage,  but  making  up  with  a  good  deal  of 
.ability  a  paper  containing  much  of  general  interest ; 
the  "Pacific  Christian  Advocate,"  a  religious  paper; 
and  also  a  number  of  other  papers,  Democratic  and 
Republican,  of  no  special  note. 

Salem,  Albany,  and  Harrisburg  possess  newspapers 
above  the  average  of  ability  and  circulation. 

I  thought  there  was  a  good  deal  of  wisdom  in  the 
letter  of  a  correspondent  of  mine  in  one  of  the  Eastern 
States,  who  concluded  a  letter  of  general  inquiry  as  to 
the  State  of  Oregon  with  a  request  that  I  would  send 
him  a  bundle  of  local  newspapers,  "by  which,"  said  he, 
"  I  can  judge  better  of  the  present  conditions  of  life  in 
Oregon  than  by  the  answers  of  any  one  special  corre- 
spondent." 

There  are  very  few  poor  people  in  Oregon — so  poor, 
that  is,  as  to  need  charitable  help.  Such  are  taken 
charge  of  by  the  county  court,  and  from  the  county 
funds  such  an  allowance  is  made  in  the  case  of  families 
as  shall  keep  them  from  absolute  want.  In  the 
case  of  single  persons  they  are  given  into  the  care 
of  such  families  as  are  willing  to  receive  them  in 
return  for  a  moderate  sum,  say  three  or  four  dollars 
a  week. 

The  various  societies  and  orders,  namely,  the  Free- 
masons, the  Foresters,  the  Odd-Fellows,  the  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  the  Good  Templars,  and  others,  have 
a  large  number  of  adherents  in  Oregon.  I  believe  the 


218  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Freemasons  number  upward  of  seven  thousand  breth- 
ren ;  the  present  Grand  Master  is  the  Secretary  of  State, 
and  a  very  efficient  head  he  makes.  The  Freemasons 
and  other  orders  take  charge  of  the  needy  brethren 
with  their  proverbial  charity,  and  thus  relieve  to  a  great 
extent  the  public  funds. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

Industries  other  than  farming — Iron-ores — Coal — Coos  Bay  mines — Seattle 
mines — Other  deposits — Lead  and  copper — Limestone  —  Marbles — 
Gold,  where  found  and  worked— Silver,  where  found  and  worked— 
Gold  in  sea-sand — Timber — Its  area  and  distribution — Spars — Lum- 
ber—Size of  trees— Hard  woods— Cost  of  production  and  sale  of 
lumber— Tanneries— Woolen-mills— Flax- works— Invitation  to  Irish 
— Salmon — Statistics  of  the  trade — Methods — Varieties  of  salmon — 
When  and  where  caught — Salmon- poisoning  of  dogs — Indians  fish- 
ing— Traps — Salmon  -smoking. 

IT  must  not  be  inferred,  from  the  prominence  given 
in  these  pages  to  the  farming  and  stock-raising  interests 
of  Oregon,  that  openings  can  not  be  found  in  many  di- 
rections ior  new  and  rising  industries. 

Oregon  is  as  rich  in  minerals  as  in  lands  for  wheat- 
growing  and  cattle-raising.  In  the  north  of  the  State, 
about  six  miles  from  Portland,  at  a  place  called  Os- 
wego,  on  the  "Willamette,  Tery  rich  deposits  of  brown 
hematite  iron-ore  have  been  discovered,  and  have  for  a 
few  years  been  worked.  The  pig-iron  produced  at  these 
smelting-works  is  now  used  in  a  foundry  close  at  hand, 
to  which  a  rolling-mill  is  just  added.  The  iron  is  of 
the  very  best  Scotch-iron  quality,  and  commands  equiv- 
alent prices  at  home  and  also  in  San  Francisco. 

At  many  other  points  large  deposits  of  iron-ore  are 
waiting  for  development.  It  is  reported  from  Colum- 
bia, Tillamook,  Marion,  Clackamas,  Linn,  Polk,  Jack- 


220  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

son,  and  Coos  Counties.  In  the  Cascade  Mountains  it 
has  been  found  in  many  directions,  but  as  yet  has  not 
been  properly  prospected. 

Coal  abounds.  The  Coos  Bay  mines  have  been  opened 
and  worked  for  some  years,  and  they  keep  quite  a  fleet 
of  schooners  plying  between  the  mines  and  San  Fran- 
cisco. Other  beds  have  been  found  on  the  Umpqua ; 
and  coal  is  reported  from  many  points  in  the  Coast 
Eange.  So  far  as  my  own  knowledge  goes,  these  moun- 
tain discoveries  are  of  no  very  great  value,  from  the  want 
of  continuity  and  uniformity  of  level,  though  it  is  but 
little  more  than  the  outcrop  which  has  been  tested  in 
most  places.  A  different  report  is  given  of  a  recent 
discovery  in  Polk  County,  in  this  valley,  where  a  thick 
vein  of  stone-coal  in  the  basin  has  "been  found.  The 
coal  I  have  seen  in  the  hills  is  anthracite,  nearly  allied 
to  lignite.  The  favorable  feature  is  the  outcrop  at  so 
many  points  in  a  northeast  and  southwest  line  of  what 
seems  to  be  the  same  vein. 

Eecently  there  has  been  a  very  energetic  effort  made 
to  develop  the  coal-mines  located  in  the  Seattle  dis- 
trict of  Washington  Territory.  The  presiding  genius 
is  Mr.  Henry  Villard,  now  so  widely  known  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company. 
The  present  output  of  these  mines  is  about  one  hun- 
dred thousand  tons  per  annum  ;  but  under  the  new  ar- 
rangements it  is  expected  that  this  will  be  raised  to  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  tons,  so  as  to  supply  not 
only  the  San  Francisco  market,  but  also  to  deliver  the 
coal  at  a  moderate  price  at  the  various  points,  both  on 
the  Columbia  and  Willamette  Eivers,  reached  by  the 
steamboats  of  the  above-mentioned  company.  Three 
large  steam-colliers  are  to  be  used  for  the  ocean  trans- 


MINERALS. 

port  of  the  coal.  Although  this  enterprise  belongs  to 
Washington  Territory,  I  have  thought  it  deserving  of 
mention  here,  as  being  likely  to  have  an  important  bear- 
ing on  the  development  of  Oregon. 

Lead  and  copper  have  been  discovered  in  abundance 
in  Jackson,  Josephine,  and  Douglas  Counties,  on  Cow 
Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Umpqua  Eiver,  and  also  on 
the  Santiam  among  the  Cascades. 

Limestone,  sandstone — both  brown  and  gray — and 
marble  quarries  have  been  opened  at  various  points  in 
the  State. 

Gold  is  found  in  paying  quantities  at  many  points 
in  Southern  Oregon,  and  also  in  the  gold-bearing  black 
sand  of  the  sea-beach,  all  along  the  southern  and  cen- 
tral portions  of  the  State.  The  finely  comminuted  con- 
dition in  which  the  gold  occurs  in  the  black  sand  has 
been  a  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of  its  profitable  work- 
ing ;  but  the  combined  chemical  and  mechanical  proc- 
esses recently  adopted  bid  fair  to  prove  thoroughly 
successful.  The  Governor  of  the  State  estimated  the 
product  of  Oregon  in  gold  and  silver  in  the  year  1876 
at  not  less  than  two  million  dollars. 

The  gold-mines  of  Baker  County,  and  the  gold  and 
silver  mines  in  Grant  County  in  Eastern  Oregon,  have 
also  recently  been  more  fully  developed,  and  with  great 
success. 

With  the  inflow  of  foreign  capital,  now  begun  in 
earnest,  those  best  qualified  to  judge  predict  for  Oregon 
a  very  high  place  among  the  gold  and  silver  producing 
States  of  the  Union. 

•*•*•-< 

The  mineral  district  in  Grant  and  Baker  Counties 
will  be  shortly  rendered  accessible  and  profitable  by  the 
expected  completion,  both  of  the  Oregon  Railway  and 


222  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Navigation  Company's  line  and  of  that  of  the  Oregon 
Pacific,  having  eastward  connections  at  Boise  City  in 
Idaho,  some  fifty  miles  eastward  of  the  eastern  boun- 
dary of  Oregon. 

The  timber  of  Oregon  is  of  world -wide  fame.  It 
will  take  many  years  to  exhaust  the  districts  even  now 
accessible  to  river,  railroad,  or  harbor ;  and  the  open- 
ing up  of  the  various  portions  of  the  State  to  be  trav- 
ersed by  the  railroads  either  now  or  shortly  to  be  put 
in  hand  will  bring  to  market  the  timber  from  hundreds 
of  square  miles  of  woodland  yet  untouched. 

The  following  general  statement  is  chiefly  extracted 
from  the  "Report  of  the  Government  Commissioner  of 
Agriculture  "  for  the  year  1875  : 

Baker  County  has  a  timber  area  of  five  hundred 
square  miles,  principally  pine  and  fir.  Benton  County 
has  a  belt  of  timber-land  of  one  eighth  of  a  mile  wide 
by  forty-five  miles  in  length,  lying  along  the  "Willamette 
River,  and  another  belt  in  the  Coast  Mountains  of 
twenty-five  by  thirty  miles. 

This  timber  is  principally  pine  and  fir ;  there  are 
also  large  quantities  of  splendid  spruce ;  alder  and 
white-oak,  laurel  and  maple  are  also  found.  Alder 
grows  from  twenty-four  to  thirty  inches  in  diameter, 
and  is  worth  for  cabinet-making  purposes  from  thirty  to 
forty  dollars  a  thousand  feet  at  the  factory.  There  is  a 
belt  principally  of  spruce  timber,  a  mile  wide  and  how 
many  miles  long  I  can  not  say,  heading  northward  from 
Depot  Slough,  a  stream  running  into  Yaquina  Biiy, 
many  of  the  trees  being  eight  and  nine  feet  in  diameter, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high. 

I  have  seen  a  hundred  and  thirty  pines  cut  for  ships' 
spars  on  one  homestead  near  Yaquina  Bay,  not  one  of 


TIMBER.  223 

which  snapped  in  the  felling,  and  which  ran  from  eighty 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  the  clear,  without  a 
branch,  and  about  as  straight  and  level  as  a  ruler.  And 
this  lot  were  cut  from  but  a  very  few  acres  of  the  wood, 
and  where  it  was  easy  to  convey  them  to  the  tidal  stream 
which  floated  them  to  the  harbor.  It  was  a  pretty  sight 
to  watch  the  team  of  five  or  six  yokes  of  oxen  hauling 
the  long,  white  spars  from  the  wooded  knoll  on  which 
they  grew — the  red  and  white  colors  of  the  oxen  and 
the  voices  of  the  teamsters  and  lumbermen  lending  life 
and  cheerfulness  to  the  somber  forest. 

Clackamas  is  one  of  the  best  timbered  counties  in 
the  "Willamette  Valley,  fully  one  half  of  its  area  being 
in  heavy  timber.  Pine,  fir,  spruce,  white  cedar,  white 
oak,  maple,  and  ash  are  found.  About  two  thirds  of 
the  area  of  Curry  County  is  covered  with  forests  of 
yellow,  red,  and  white  fir,  sugar-pine,  white  cedar, 
spruce,  white  and  other  oaks,  and  madroilo.  The  tim- 
ber-lands of  Douglas  are  principally  covered  with  the 
different  varieties  of  evergreens  and  oaks.  There  are 
thousands  of  acres  which  would  yield  from  three  to  six 
hundred  cords  to  the  acre  not  yet  taken  up.  Not  over 
one  third  of  the  area  of  Lane  County  is  woodland. 
This  embraces  the  different  varieties  common  to  the 
Pacific  coast. 

The  timber-land  of  Linn,  occupying  half  its  area,  is 
comprised  in  three  belts  of  dense  forest,  half  of  which 
is  red  fir.  Within  the  last  twenty-four  years  thousands 
of  acres  of  woodland  have  grown  up  from  seed,  and 
are  now  covered  with  trees  from  forty  to  eighty  feet 
high,  with  a  diameter  of  from  ten  inches  to  two  feet. 
There  have  been  made  from  one  acre  of  fir-timber  six 
thousand  rails  ten  feet  long  by  at  least  four  inches  thick. 


224  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Multnomah  has  a  large  area  of  timber-land,  mostly 
yellow  and  red  fir. 

Three  fourths  of  the  area  of  Tillamook  is  in  timber, 
and  half  of  this  is  fir  and  hemlock.  The  forests  of 
Umatilla  are  confined  to  the  mountains,  where  they  are 
very  dense,  and  to  the  belts  along  the  streams.  "Wasco 
has  immense  forests  in  the  mountains,  many  of  them 
as  yet  inaccessible.  The  general  result  is,  that  Oregon 
has  in  all  15,407,528  acres  of  woodlands  out  of  a  total 
area  of  60,975,360  acres.  The  timber  on  the  average  is 
worth  now  about  four  dollars  per  thousand  cubic  feet  at 
the  saw-mill  in  the  log,  and  costs  when  sawed  into  inch 
lumber  about  eight  dollars  the  thousand  feet  of  such 
lumber.  The  price  of  the  lumber  to  the  consumer 
varies  from  nine  to  fourteen  dollars  per  thousand  feet, 
according  to  the  demand.  Much  of  the  fir  and  spruce 
timber  will  cut  into  six  or  seven  logs  of  sixteen  feet  in 
length,  the  tree  being  six  feet  in  diameter  two  feet  from 
the  ground. 

From  one  cut  out  of  a  fallen  fir  on  my  own  land  we 
split  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  rails  of  fully  four 
inches  diameter,  and  from  several  trees  over  six  hun- 
dred rails  each  have  been  split. 

A  good  deal  of  unauthorized  timber-cutting  goes  on 
upon  the  Government  land  not  yet  taken  up.  When 
the  logger  is  honest,  he  buys  the  right  to  cut  from  the 
owner  of  the  land,  paying  "stumpage"  of  about  fifty 
cents  a  tree.  I  have  known  many  acres  to  provide  over 
fifty  of  these  big  trees,  thus  returning  a  good  price  for 
the  timber,  and  leaving  rich  and  partly  cleared  land  for 
pasturing  purposes  in  the  hands  of  the  owner. 

One  of  the  industries  that  needs  to  be  established 
in  many  parts  of  the  State  is  tanning.  Hides  are  plen- 


WOOLEN-MILLS.  225 

tiful,  and  of  excellent  quality ;  bark,  both  of  oak  and  of 
hemlock,  is  easily  procurable,  and  the  water-power  is 
abundant  almost  everywhere.  At  present  the  leather 
used  is  chiefly  imported  from  California ;  it  has  been 
hastily  tanned,  and  is  of  poor  quality.  The  drawback 
to  this  business  is  that  it  absorbs  capital  before  it  begins 
to  yield  profit ;  but,  the  machine  once  having  begun  to 
revolve,  the  returns  are  steady,  the  risks  few,  the  results 
permanent,  and  the  profits  very  considerable. 

The  woolen  manufacture  in  Oregon  has  already  taken 
good  hold.  Oregon  goods  are  well  known  in  California, 
and  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  also.  They  re- 
ceived well-deserved  praise  at  the  Centennial  Exhibi- 
tion of  1876.  There  are  three  woolen-factories  in  the 
State  :  one  at  Oregon  City,  one  at  Brownsville,  and  one 
at  Ashland,  in  the  south  of  the  State.  Their  blankets 
and  tweeds  are  admirable  for  thickness,  solidity,  and 
softness  of  texture.  The  Oregon  City  mills  employ  a 
good  many  Chinamen ;  they  work  well  and  economi- 
cally. There  is  every  probability  of  a  fourth  factory 
being  at  once  established  in  or  near  Albany ;  and  the 
more  the  better,  considering  the  ample  water-power, 
and  the  abundance  and  excellence  of  fleeces. 

Taking  into  account  the  quality  of  the  flax  grown 
in  the  State  and  the  indefinite  power  of  expansion  of 
the  product,  seeing  that  the  very  edge  of  the  flax-land 
has  hardly  yet  been  touched,  while  many  thousand 
acres  are  specially  fit  for  the  crop,  and  considering, 
also,  that  linen  in  its  various  forms  is  unnaturally  dear 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  it  seems  a  pity  that  one  or  more 
linen-factories  should  not  be  established.  The  present 
disturbed  state  of  Ireland  has,  we  know,  prepared  many 
of  its  inhabitants  for  emigration,  and  among  them  are 


226  TWO    TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

many  trained  in  the  growth,  the  preparation,  and  the 
manufacture  of  flax.  Any  persons  familiar  with  this 
industry  could  not  do  better  than  transfer  themselves, 
their  capital,  their  machinery,  and  their  staff  of  work- 
ers, to  this  free  land  ;  here  they  will  find  a  hearty  wel- 
come, a  fine  climate,  the  very  best  of  raw  material,  a 
market  at  their  doors,  unlimited  opening  for  expansion 
of  their  business,  and  a  habitation  free  alike  from  tur- 
bulence, riot,  and  oppression. 

No  book  attempting  to  deal,  in  however  general 
terms,  with  the  industrial  development  of  Oregon,  can 
pass  the  business  in  canned  salmon  without  notice. 

The  growth  of  the  business  has  been  marvelous. 
The  following  table  shows  the  canning  of  the  Columbia 
Eiver  salmon  during  the  ten  years  ending  with  1880  : 


Year.  Cases. 

1871 35,000 

1872 44,000 

1873 103,000 

1874 244,000 

1875 291,000 


Year.  Cases. 

1876 429,000 

1877 393,000 

1878 412,924 

1879 440,000 

1880 540,000 


Each  case  contains  four  dozen  tins  of  one  pound  each, 
or  two  dozen  of  two  pounds. 

The  total  output  of  the  Pacific  coast  for  1880  is  es- 
timated at  680,000  cases. 

Besides  the  Columbia  River,  which  is  the  main  source 
of  supply,  other  Oregon  rivers  are  laid  under  tribute. 
The  Rogue  River,  the  Alsea,  Umpqua,  Coquille,  Neha- 
lem,  Siletz,  and  Yaquina  Rivers  are  all  salmon-yield- 
ing streams.  The  system  followed  is  generally  known. 
The  proprietor  erects  his  cannery  on  the  edge  of  the 
river,  generally  on  piles  driven  into  the  mud.  The 


SALMON.  227 

cannery  consists  of  a  large  warehouse  for  laying  out 
the  fresh  salmon  as  soon  as  caught.  Next  comes  a 
building  fitted  with  large  knives  for  cutting  up  the 
salmon  into  the  proper  length  for  canning,  and  boilers 
in  which  the  cans  or  tins  are  boiled.  Then  come  the 
packing  and  storing  houses.  That  the  undertaking 
need  be  on  a  large  scale  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  they  may  have  to  deal  with  three  or  four  thou- 
sand salmon  at  a  time,  as  the  produce  of  one  night's 
take,  and  these  salmon  averaging  twenty-five  pounds 
in  weight. 

The  canneries  make  their  own  tins,  one  man,  by  the 
aid  of  ingenious  machinery,  putting  together  fifteen 
hundred  tins  in  a  day. 

The  boats  and  nets  belong  to  the  cannery.  The 
fishermen  are  paid  by  the  fish  they  bring  in  :  one  third 
belongs  to  the  cannery  in  right  of  boat  and  nets  ;  the 
other  two  thirds  are  bought  from  the  fishermen  at  fifty 
cents  a  fish. 

The  importance  to  Oregon  of  the  trade  is  shown  by 
the  proceeds  for  the  year  ending  August  1,  1879,  from 
the  412,924  cases  exported  being  $1,863,069. 

The  tin  for  the  salmon,  and  also  for  the  canned  beef 
which  is  prepared  in  several  of  the  canneries,  is  all  im- 
ported. The  imports  for  1879  amounted  to  54,520 
boxes,  costing  from  $8  to  $9  a  box. 

The  number  of  salmon  ascending  some  of  these 
streams  to  spawn  is  almost  incredible. 

Both  the  Siletz  and  the  Yaquina  Eivers  yield  two 
kinds  :  one  a  heavy,  thick-shouldered,  red-tinged,  hook- 
nosed fellow,  which  is  never  eaten  by  white  men  when 
it  has  passed  up  out  of  tidal  waters ;  the  other  a 
slim,  graceful,  bright-scaled  fish,  known  as  the  silver 


228  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

salmon.  Of  this  last  there  are  two  runs  in  the  year : 
one  in  April  and  May,  the  other  in  October  and  No- 
vember. 

The  heavy,  red  salmon  runs  in  the  fall  of  the  year, 
from  August  to  November,  and  the  heads  of  all  the 
streams,  even  to  the  little  brooks  among  the  mountains, 
are  filled  with  ugly,  dark,  yellow-and-white  spotted 
fish  pushing  their  way  upward,  until  I  have  seen  five 
huge  fish  in  a  tiny  pool  too  shallow  to  cover  their  back- 
fins.  Some  get  back  to  the  ocean  with  the  autumn 
floods ;  the  majority  are  left  dying,  or  dead,  on  the 
gravel  or  along  the  edges  of  the  streams.  Here  they 
are  deadly  poison  to  dogs,  and  to  wolves  also.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  keep  dogs  of  mature  age  in  the 
coast  district ;  sooner  or  later  they  are  almost  sure  to 
get  "salmoned,"  and  to  die. 

The  only  way  is  to  allow  the  puppies  free  run  at  the 
salmon  :  two  out  of  three  will  die ;  the  survivor,  hav- 
ing passed  the  ordeal,  will  be  salmon-proof  and  live  to 
his  full  age. 

The  symptoms  of  salmon-poisoning  are  refusal  of 
food,  staring  coat,  running  at  the  eyes,  dry  and  fever- 
ish nose,  absolute  stoppage  of  digestion,  followed  by 
death  in  about  three  days  after  the  first  appearance  of 
poisoning. 

All  sorts  of  remedies  have  been  unsuccessfully  tried. 
A  young  dog  may  battle  through,  if  dosed  with  Epsom 
salts  as  soon  as  his  state  is  observed  ;  for  an  old  dog,  I 
can  find  nothing  of  avail.  Castor-oil,  large  doses  of 
mustard,  shot  in  quantities  forced  down  the  throat, 
calomel,  aloes,  blackberry-tea  —  all  of  these  I  have 
heard  of,  but  have  not  the  slightest  faith  in  any  one. 

Therefore,  any  new-comers  into  the  coast  country 


INDIAN  SALMON-TRAPS.  229 

bringing  valuable  dogs  with  them  will  have  to  keep 
them  tied  up,  or  else  may  expect  to  lose  them,  as  I 
have  unfortunately  experienced. 

The  repugnance  of  the  white  man  to  the  dark  and 
spotted  salmon  is  not  shared  by  the  Indians.  They  had 
a  salmon-camp  on  Big  Elk,  the  chief  tributary  of  the 
Yaquina,  last  year,  which  I  went  to  see.  The  river  runs 
between  steep  hills,  covered  with  the  usual  brush,  and 
with  a  narrow  trail  cut  through  along  the  edge  of  the 
water.  The  tide  runs  up  for  about  four  miles  above  the 
junction  with  the  Yaquina,  and  there,  in  a  wide  pool 
into  which  the  little  river  fell  over  a  ridge  of  rocks, 
hardly  to  be  called  a  fall,  the  Indians  had  their  dam  and 
traps.  Just  below  the  fall  they  had  planted  a  row  of 
willow  and  hazel  stakes  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  close 
together  and  tied  with  withes.  In  the  center  was  an 
opening — a  little  lane  of  stakes  leading  into  a  pocket 
some  six  feet  wide.  The  Indian  women  sat  out  on  the 
rock  by  the  side  of  the  pocket  with  dip-nets  and  ladled 
out  the  salmon,  which  had  been  beguiled  by  their  in- 
stinct of  pushing  always  up  the  stream  into  entering 
the  fatal  inclosure. 

The  Indian  tyJiees  or  shelters  were  on  the  bank  close 
by — miserable  hovels  made  of  boughs,  and  some  old 
boards  they  had  carried  up — and  hung  round  with  torn 
and  dirty  blankets  to  keep  in  the  smoke.  Poles  were 
set  across  and  across,  and  from  these  hung  the  sides  and 
bellies  of  the  salmon,  while  a  little  fire  of  damp  wood 
and  grass  was  kept  constantly  replenished  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor,  by  a  wretched-looking  crone  who  squatted 
close  by. 

When  we  got  there,  a  younger  woman  was  opening 
and  splitting  the  salmon  just  caught,  pressing  the  eggs 


230  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

into  a  great  osier  basket,  where  they  looked  exactly  like 
a  pile  of  red  currants.  She  gave  us  a  handful  of  eggs 
for  trout-bait ;  as  every  one  knows,  the  most  deadly  and 
poaching  lure  for  that  fish.  And  we  found  the  benefit 
of  them  that  same  evening  at  Elk  City,  four  miles 
below,  where  the  salmon- trout  crowd  almost  in  shoals 
to  be  caught. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Eastern  Oregon— Going  "  east  of  the  mountains  "—Its  attractions— En- 
croaching sheep — First  experiments  in  agriculture  and  planting  — 
General  description  of  Eastern  Oregon — Boundaries — Alkaline  plains 
—Their  productions— The  valleys— Powder  Eiver  Valley— Descrip- 
tion—The  Snake  Eiver  and  its  tributaries — The  Malheur  Valley — 
Harney  Lake  Valley — Its  size — Productions — Wild  grasses  —  Hay- 
making— The  winters  in  Eastern  Oregon — Wagon-roads  —  Prine- 
ville — Silver  Creek — Grindstone  Creek  Valley  —  Crooked  River  — 
Settlers'  descriptions  and  experiences — Ascent  of  the  Cascades  going 
west — Eastern  Oregon  towns — Baker  City — Prineville  —  Warnings 
to  settlers — Growing  wheat  for  the  railroads  to  carry. 

WHILE  Western  Oregon  and  the  Willamette  Valley 
in  particular  haye  been  settled  up,  the  valleys,  plains, 
and  hill-sides  of  Eastern  Oregon  are  only  just  now  be- 
ginning to  attract  population. 

But  the  reports  of  that  country  have  spread  far  and 
wide  through  the  valley,  and  half  the  young  men  are 
burning  to  try  their  fortunes  "east  of  the  mountains." 
When  a  youngster  has  been  brought  up  in  a  wide  val- 
ley, the  eastern  sky-line  of  which  has  been  marked  out, 
from  his  very  infancy,  by  a  line  of  rugged  hills,  over 
which  the  snow-peaks  tower ;  when  he  has  been  used 
to  see  the  mountains  stand  out  clear  and  majestic,  rosy 
in  the  glow  of  the  setting  sun,  and  then  putting  on 
their  winter  garments  of  purity,  and  shining  cold  in 
the  clear  moonlight  of  the  winter  nights  ;  when  he  has 
watched  them  disappear  as  the  mists  of  the  autumn 
rains  filled  the  valley,  to  be  hidden  for  weeks  from  his 


232  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

gaze,  and  then  suddenly  revealed  as  the  drying  and 
vigorous  west  wind  dispelled  the  veil  which  the  warm 
south  wind  had  only  served  to  thicken — I  can  sym- 
pathize with  the  longing  felt,  even  if  unexpressed,  to 
climb  this  barrier  and  find  if  there  be  in  verity  a  Canaan 
beyond. 

And  then,  until  lately  at  all  events,  to  the  young 
and  bold  there  was  a  strong  attraction  in  the  life  on 
horseback,  in  the  gallop  after  the  straggling  cattle  over 
those  rolling  plains ;  in  the  bachelor  life  of  freedom, 
where  home  was  just  where  night  found  him,  and 
where  his  comrades  had  made  their  fire  and  picketed 
their  horses ;  and,  though  last  not  least,  where  the 
wealthy  stockmen  had  started  from  the  exact  point 
where  he  stood,  their  capital  good  health,  readiness  to 
rough  it,  and  a  determination  to  get  on. 

But  a  few  years  ago  this  was  what  life  east  of  the 
mountains  meant.  Then  men  found  that  sheep  paid 
better  than  cattle  ;  and  the  sheep-herder,  with  his  band 
of  merinos,  took  possession  of  the  rocky  hill- sides,  on 
which  the  thick  bunch-grass  was  already  beginning  to 
fail  to  hold  its  first  vigor  and  abundance,  and  his  peace- 
ful but  not  unresisted  invasion  pushed  the  cattle-men 
farther  into  the  wilderness. 

The  loathing  and  contempt  of  the  stockmen  for 
these  encroaching  sheep  !  Some  of  them  actually  en- 
couraged, and  refused  to  permit  the  slaughter  of,  the 
prairie- wolves,  which  did  not  molest  the  cattle,  but 
waged  war  on  the  flocks.  But  the  tide  would  not  be 
turned  back,  and  mile  after  mile  the  sheep  pushed  on. 

The  bunch-grass  which  the  cattle  lived  on,  and 
which  only  overstocking  injured,  gave  way  before  the 
sheep  ;  for  these  eat  out  the  hearts  of  the  young  grass, 


EASTERN  OREGON.  233 

and  their  range  grew  wider  as  the  feed  became  more 
sparse. 

And  then  the  farmer  followed  the  sheep-herder,  and 
the  eaten  pastures  were  turned  up  by  the  plow.  True, 
the  soil  was  alkaline  in  many  places,  and  rocky  and 
stony  to  an  extent  strange  to  the  eyes  of  the  valley 
farmer,  who  hardly  ever  sees  a  stone.  But  there  were 
streams  on  many  a  hill-side  which  only  needed  a  little 
work  to  be  turned  on  to  and  to  irrigate  the  soil  below; 
and  many  a  valley  was  explored,  whose  level  land  gave 
promise  of  numberless  farms. 

Even  if  the  land  were  bare  and  desolate-looking  to 
a  degree,  and  the  farmhouse  stood  naked  and  unattrac- 
tive, yet  it  was  found  that  apples  and  pears  would  grow, 
and  even  that  peaches  would  ripen  well  in  a  hotter  and 
drier  summer  climate  than  is  found  elsewhere  in  Oregon. 

And  when  the  results  of  the  first  experiments  were 
disclosed,  and  it  was  found  that  wheat  yielded  thirty, 
forty,  and  even  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre  on  these  very 
lands,  the  tide  turned. 

Men  who  had  decried  Eastern  Oregon  as  a  desert, 
fit  only  to  pasture  a  few  cattle  and  scattering  bands  of 
sheep,  suddenly  changed  their  tone,  and  nothing  was 
heard  from  them  but  advice  to  leave  the  worn-out 
lands  of  the  "Willamette  Valley,  and  go  to  this,  which 
was  the  coming  countrj7". 

And  advantage  was  at  once  taken  of  this  state  of 
things  to  prepare  the  public  mind  for,  and  then  to  take 
up  vast  sums  of  money  to  provide,  railroad  and  in- 
creased steamboat  accommodation  to  bring  the  products 
of  these  eastern  plains  within  reach  of  Portland  and 
the  seaboard. 

What  is  this  country  like  ?    The  Columbia  bounds 


231  ,      TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  north,  the  Snake  River  the  east  of  Oregon — the  one 
running  east  and  west,  the  other  north  and  south. 
Nearly  midway  between  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  the 
Snake  Kiver,  the  Blue  Mountains  run,  roughly  speak- 
ing, north  and  south.  This  range  is  much  less  elevated 
than  the  Cascades,  but  very  wide,  and  rises  gradually 
from  far-reaching  foot-hills  about  the  center  of  the 
State. 

Between  the  Blue  Mountains  and  the  Cascades  lies 
a  great  stretch  of  open,  rolling  country — bare,  rocky 
hills,  not  a  tree  and  hardly  a  bush  to  be  seen ;  until 
lately  covered  with  bunch-grass  and  some  sage-brush. 
This  is  some  of  the  country  to  which  the  change  of  pur- 
pose applies  which  I  have  just  described. 

The  prevailing  color  of  the  country  is  a  reddish- 
brown,  except  when  in  spring  a  tinge  of  living  green 
spreads  with  the  growing  grass. 

Near  the  Cascade  Mountains  are  wide  tracts  covered 
with  fine  volcanic  lava-dust.  Where  there  is  moisture 
to  be  found,  this  soil  supports  a  good  growth  of  grass, 
and  the  pine  timber  stretches  to  its  edge.  But  joining 
it  come  the  bare  alkaline  plains.  Their  natural  vegeta- 
tion is  the  bunch-grass  and  the  sage-brush  (Artemisia). 

The  chief  constituents  in  the  alkaline  formation  are 
chlorides  of  sodium  and  potassium — demanding  irriga- 
tion as  the  remedy  for  the  excess  of  alkali,  while  beet- 
root is  recommended  as  a  first  crop  to  absorb  the  sur- 
plus salt.  Excellent  crops  are  raised  in  the  Ochico 
Valley,  on  this  land  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  very 
large  portion  of  the  tracts  now  being  abandoned  by  the 
cattle-  and  sheep-herder  will  prove  of  enormous  produc- 
tiveness in  wheat. 

East  of  the  Blue  Mountains  is  found,  among  others, 


SNAKE  RIVER  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.    235 

the  Powder  River  Valley.  This  is  in  the  western  part 
of  Baker  County  and  partly  in  Union  County.  On  the 
north  and  east  a  steep  hill-side  separates  it  from  the 
Grand  Ronde  Valley ;  on  the  south  and  west  rises  the 
spur  of  the  Blue  Mountain  range.  The  valley  is  about 
twenty-four  miles  long  by  twelve  wide,  thus  covering 
two  hundred  and  ninety  square  miles. 

The  lands  in  this  valley  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of 
similar  valleys  in  Eastern  Oregon.  They  may  be  divided 
into  three  classes.  First,  the  bottom-lands  pure  and 
simple.  These  consist  of  alluvial  soil  of  abundant 
depth  and  richness ;  the  only  question  an  intending  set- 
tler need  ask  is  whether  they  are  subject  to  inundation 
from  the  overflow  of  the  river,  which  invariably  is  found 
running  through  the  whole  length.  Above  the  bottom- 
lands, and  far  exceeding  them  in  extent,  are  the  foot- 
hills, yielding  in  this  instance  fully  one  hundred  and 
eighty  square  miles  of  excellent  grain-producing  lands, 
and  adapted  in  all  respects  to  farming  purposes.  And 
above  these  again  rise  the  hills  for  pasturage,  and  only 
useful  for  grain-growing  where  facilities  for  irrigation 
can  be  found.  The  character  of  bareness  does  not  ap- 
ply to  these  hill-sides  ;  the  alkaline  soil  does  not  extend 
to  them,  and  a  richer  vegetation,  in  which  other  native 
grasses  and  spreading  plants  come  to  the  aid  of  the  pre- 
dominating bunch-grass,  affords  food  to  sheep  and  cat- 
tle all  the  summer  through. 

All  the  tributaries  of  the  Snake  River  from  the  Ore- 
gon side  run  through  a  country  of  a  somewhat  similar 
character,  and  each  of  these  streams  is  the  source  of 
life  and  vegetation.  Among  these  other  valleys  may  be 
named  the  Lower  Powder  River,  Eagle  Creek,  Pine 
Creek,  Upper  Burnt  River,  Upper  and  Lower  Willow 


236  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Creek,  and  the  Malheur.  This  last  requires  separate 
mention.  It  runs  through  the  boundaries  of  the  Mal- 
heur Indian  reservation,  now  shortly  to  be  thrown  open 
to  settlement,  and  offering  about  three  million  acres  of 
fertile  and  desirable  land. 

The  Malheur  Eiver  runs  from  the  Harney  Lake  Val- 
ley to  the  Snake.  This  last-named  valley  is  about  sixty 
miles  long  by  twenty  wide ;  and  this  area  of  twelve 
hundred  square  miles  is  mainly  covered  with  a  growth 
of  grass  so  tall  that  a  man  riding  through  it  on  horse- 
back in  August  can  tie  the  heads  of  the  wild-rye  to- 
gether over  his  head,  or,  to  use  another  illustration, 
sufficiently  high  and  dense  to  hide  completely  a  horse- 
man who  diverges  from  the  road  or  track.  With  the 
wild-rye  are  mixed  bunch-grass,  blue- joint,  and  quanti- 
ties of  the  wild-pea  vine.  And  the  country  north  and 
south  of  it,  though  bare,  is  not  barren  and  mountain- 
ous ;  but  in  the  spring  and  summer,  before  the  grass  is 
up  to  its  full  height,  a  man  can  ride  and  even  drive  his 
wagon,  day  in  and  day  out,  until  he  gets  out  of  the 
boundaries  of  Oregon. 

The  preparations  which  the  settlers  make  for  the 
winter  consist  mainly  in  cutting  and  storing  for  hay  the 
natural  grasses  of  the  country.  Fort  Harney,  which 
has  been  until  lately  a  post  held  by  two  companies,  has 
stabling  for  four  hundred  horses.  Five  years  ago  the 
troops  got  cut  and  stacked  from  the  surrounding  coun- 
try nine  hundred  tons  of  choice  hay. 

Neither  in  this  valley  are  the  winters  very  severe. 
Until  railroad  communications  are  provided,  the  sparse 
settlers  have  to  abandon  themselves  to  isolation  from 
the  outside  world,  because  the  snow  lies  deep  on  the 
plateaus  and  ridges  which  extend  between  them  and  the 


GRINDSTONE  CREEK  VALLEY.  237 

haunts  of  civilized  man.  But  within  the  limits  of  the 
valleys  the  inhabitants  enjoy  life  in  winter.  The  snow 
does  not  lie  long  or  deep ;  and  from  so  many  sources 
that  I  am  forced  to  credit  it  comes  the  information  that 
no  one  accustomed  to  American  winter  in  any  of  the 
Middle  States  need  have  any  apprehension  in  coming  to 
live  in  any  of  the  valleys  I  have  named. 

Turning  westward  from  the  Snake  River  and  trav- 
ersing the  Malheur  Valley  and  the  Harney  Lake  Valley, 
the  traveler  may  follow  one  of  the  military  wagon-roads 
— that  one  whose  fortunes  in  the  violent  and  scandalous 
attempts  on  the  title  to  its  granted  lands  I  have  before 
referred  to. 

From  Camp  Harney  to  Prineville,  the  principal  town 
in  the  southern  portion  of  Wasco  County,  the  dis- 
tance is  about  one  hundred  and  forty-five  miles.  For 
between  thirty  and  forty  miles  the  road  runs  through 
Silver  Creek  Valley,  or  along  land  watered  by  its  afflu- 
ent streams.  The  description  I  have  given  of  valleys 
in  Eastern  Oregon  applies  to  this.  The  country  on 
either  side  of  the  road  consists  of  rolling  hills,  covered 
with  bunch-grass  and  sage-brush,  and  occasionally  sparse 
juniper.  Settlement  in  this  valley  is  very  recent.  But 
thirteen  families  had  taken  up  their  residence  there 
previous  to  and  during  the  fall  of  1880,  and  several 
more  are  going  in  this  spring. 

Then  Grindstone  Creek  Valley  is  reached.  This  is 
one  of  the  head-waters  of  Crooked  Eiver.  A  perfect 
network  of  creeks  and  streams  is  passed  before  the  main 
Crooked  River  is  reached,  and  each  stream  and  creek 
brings  fertility  to  the  land  on  either  side  of  it  and 
through  which  it  runs. 

A  farmer  named  Moppin  has  the  credit  of  growing 


238  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  first  grain  on  Grindstone  Creek ;  and  there,  in  the 
harvest  of  1880,  he  raised  six  hundred  bushels  of  fine 
oats  on  nine  acres  of  land,  and  grew  one  hundred  and 
fifty  bushels  of  potatoes  on  less  than  two  thirds  of  an 
acre ;  several  of  the  potatoes  weighed  two  pounds  and 
upward. 

Then,  following  down  the  course  of  the  Crooked 
River  Valley,  we  pass  through  a  country  which  is  de- 
scribed in  the  following  terms  by  a  settler  of  eleven 
years'  experience  : 

"This  Crooked  River  Valley  is  about  seventy-five 
miles  long,  and  extends  almost  due  east  and  west.  It 
is  a  beautiful  valley,  with  little  or  no  timber  in  it,  with 
the  exception  of  willows  along  the  river.  The  average 
width  of  the  river  is  about  one  hundred  feet.  Now 
comes  the  stock  country  on  the  south  of  this  river, 
and  along  its  entire  length  is  one  line  of  hills  and 
plateaus,  thickly  covered  with  bunch-grass  of  the  best 
quality.  Every  few  miles  comes  in  a  creek  from  the 
highlands  back  on  either  side.  On  these  streams,  from 
head  to  mouth,  with  but  few  exceptions,  are  good  farm- 
ing-lands. 

"At  this  time  there  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
acres  of  good  land  lying  idle,  waiting  for  the  indus- 
trious farmer  to  fence  and  plow  and  raise  grain  on. 
But  what  is  the  use  ?  There  is  no  market  for  the  grain 
except  in  limited  quantities,  as  we  have  no  facilities  for 
shipping  to  the  outside  world.  The  consequence  is, 
that  if  a  man  does  not  have  money  enough  to  go  into 
the  stock-business,  he  won't  come  here  at  all.  The  one 
great  trouble  is  to  get  our  supplies.  Within  a  year 
after  the  completion  of  a  railroad  to  this  locality  the 
people  over  in  your  section  will  be  surprised  at  the  vast 


A  FARMERS  OPINION.  239 

amount  of  grain  received  from  here.  As  it  is  now,  we 
have  to  drive  our  fat  cattle  from  one  to  two  hundred 
miles  in  the  winter  to  find  a  market,  and  by  the  time  we 
get  them  there  they  are  poor.  Give  us  a  railroad,  and 
we  can  ship  our  fat  stock  five  hundred  miles  to  mar- 
ket, and  afford  to  sell  cheaper  than  those  who  live  in 
your  (Willamette)  valley.  We  do  not  have  to  feed  at 
all.  We  mark  and  brand  a  calf,  turn  him  out  on  the 
range,  and,  when  he  is  four  years  old,  sell  him  for 
twenty  dollars  cash — net  profit  about  seventeen  dollars. 
Does  that  pay  ?  Give  us  facilities  for  getting  to  a  bet- 
ter market,  and  it  will  pay  better. " 

Passing  still  eastward  after  leaving  Prineville  along 
this  Crooked  Eiver  Valley,  and  then  to  its  junction 
with  the  Des  Chutes  River,  the  country  retains  its  fer- 
tile and  promising  character. 

A  farmer  of  twenty  years'  experience  in  Oregon,  and 
who  is  a  thoroughly  reliable  man,  writes  thus  :  "  I  have 
known  this  country  well  for  several  years.  This  fall 
(1880)  I  have  taken  a  journey  through  it  right  along 
east,  traveling  slowly  and  with  a  view  to  settling.  What 
my  opinion  is  you  may  judge  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  settle  in  the  Crooked  River  Val- 
ley, where  I  shall  go  with  my  family  in  the  spring. 

1 '  I  know  no  part  of  Oregon  that  pleases  me  better. 
You  have  the  best  of  land  for  wheat,  oats,  and  pota- 
toes. You  can  get  a  good  garden,  and  grow  all  the 
vegetables  you  want.  You  have  unlimited  range  for 
your  stock,  where  they  will  get  fat  on  the  natural 
grasses,  and  where  you  can  put  up  all  the  hay  you  want. 
Cattle,  horses,  and  sheep  do  equally  well  out  there. 
You  are  going  into  a  healthy  climate,  away  from  all 
fever  and  ague  or  any  other  sickness  of  that  nature ; 


240  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON, 

and  you  are  going  to  a  place  where  the  land  is  bound 
to  be  worth  four  times  its  present  value  when  the  Ore- 
gon Pacific  Railroad  is  opened." 

Beginning  the  ascent  of  the  Cascades,  you  pass 
through  and  over  some  twenty  miles  of  rough  lava  coun- 
try, interspersed  with  strips  of  scattering  timber-land, 
and  then  come  to  Fish  Lake  and  Clear  Lake,  the  para- 
dise of  the  fisherman,  the  hunter,  and  the  berry-gath- 
erer and  botanist. 

Before  I  leave  the  description  of  Eastern  Oregon,  let 
me  quote  from  one  more  letter  from  a  settler  of  last 
year  out  in  the  Prineville  country  :  "I  am  located  on  a 
ranch  on  Camp  Creek,  and  eight  miles  below  the  famous 
'  soap-holes '  (silver-mines).  We  can  raise  almost  any- 
thing out  here,  unless  it  is  a  mortgage.  We  have  all 
the  potatoes,  turnips,  onions,  carrots,  and  beets  we 
want ;  all  were  raised  on  our  ranch,  and,  by-the-way, 
they  were  immense.  I  pulled  one  turnip  that  mea- 
sured thirty-four  and  a  half  inches  in  circumference, 
and  quite  a  number  ran  as  high  as  thirty  inches.  Early- 
rose  potatoes  do  remarkably  well  here.  I  have  in 
about  five  acres  of  rye,  and  will  sow  about  twenty  acres 
of  wheat  and  oats  in  the  spring." 

I  should  add  that  the  towns  in  Eastern  Oregon,  away 
from  the  Columbia,  are  beginning  to  assume  consider- 
able importance. 

Baker  City  was  described  in  December,  1880,  as  hav- 
ing about  one  thousand  inhabitants,  while  the  amount 
of  business  transacted  would  average  fully  $450,000. 
There  were  then  six  substantial  fire-proof  business 
structures,  and  two  large  school-buildings,  namely, 
"St.  Joseph's"  and  "The  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names." 
The  former  is  said  to  be  a  large  four-story  structure,  in 


WARNINGS  TO  SETTLERS.  241 

brick  and  stone,  of  the  pure  Gothic  style  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  with  accommodations  for  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  boarding  and  day  scholars  ;  it  is 
managed  by  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  named  De  Roo. 

Prineville  is  a  very  lively  and  bustling  place,  with 
about  the  same  number  of  inhabitants.  It  is  growing 
fast,  several  fine  buildings  having  been  recently  erect- 
ed, among  them  a  convenient  and  substantial  church. 
There  are  three  large  general  stores,  supplied  with  heavy 
stocks  of  goods  ;  from  this,  as  a  distributing  center,  the 
stockmen  and  ranchers  for  fifty  miles  and  more  in  every 
direction  fetch  the  necessaries  of  life.  In  the  summer- 
time ten  or  a  dozen  heavily-loaded  wagons  may  be  seen 
any  day  starting  out  along  this  road  (which  was  called 
no  road  !)  for  their  distant  homes. 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  all  Eastern  Oregon  could 
be  divided  off  into  farms  of  the  character  of  these  choicer 
pieces  which  such  men  as  I  have  referred  to  have  chosen 
and  settled  on.  There  is  many  a  rough,  stony  hill-side, 
where  the  sparse  vegetation  struggles  for  life  in  the 
crannies  of  the  rocks.  There  is  many  a  stretch  of 
sandy,  alkaline  plain,  where  the  dingy  sage-brush  grows, 
with  here  and  there  a  tuft  of  bunch-grass ;  there  is 
many  a  gully  where  the  thirsty  steer  would  look  in  vain 
for  water,  even  in  a  dirt-hole,  to  quench  his  thirst. 

But  all  this  is  fully  consistent  with  the  fertility  and 
attractiveness  of  the  valleys  and  slopes  I  have  described. 
For,  remember,  we  are  dealing  with  fifty  thousand 
square  miles  of  country,  on  which,  if  the  existing  farms 
were  marked  on  a  large  scale-map,  they  would  be  hardly 
noticeable  in  the  vast  expanse  of  land  waiting  for  set- 
tlement and  population. 

But  he  would  be  a  short-sighted  man  who  should 


24:2  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

think  of  farming  in  Eastern  Oregon,  as  it  now  is,  save 
in  a  few  accessible  spots,  where  proximity  to  a  road  will 
provide  a  market  at  his  door  for  the  produce  he  has 
raised.  In  Northeastern  Oregon,  where  the  great  crops 
of  wheat  are  beginning  to  be  grown,  the  farmer  is  at 
the  mercy  of  the  Transportation  Company,  which  hith- 
erto has  sucked  the  oyster  and  left  the  farmer  the  shell. 
For  what  profit  can  there  be  in  growing  wheat  at  thirty 
and  thirty-five  cents  a  bushel,  that  same  wheat  being 
worth  one  hundred  cents  in  Portland,  and  the  differ- 
ence being  absorbed  in  freight  and  charges  ? 

And  yet,  so  great  is  the  charm  of  novelty,  so  prone 
are  a  large  number  of  the  emigrants  to  this  State  to  try 
a  new  place,  that  land  up  there  fetches  from  five  to  fif- 
teen dollars  an  acre,  just  about  the  same  price  for  which 
they  could  buy  a  farm  in  the  valley  foot-hills,  where 
wheat  was  worth  seventy-five  cents  against  the  thirty- 
five,  and  where  churches,  schools,  post-offices,  and  tele- 
graphs are  already  provided. 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 

Southern  Oregon — Its  boundaries — The  western  counties — Population — 
Ports — Eogue  Eiver — Coos  Bay — Coal — Lumber — Practicable  rail- 
road routes — The  harbor — Shifting  and  blowing  sands — A  quoted 
description — Cost  of  transportation — Harbor  improvements — Their 
progress  and  results — The  Uinpqua — Douglas  County  —  Jackson 
County — The  lake-country — Linkville — Water-powers — Indian  res- 
ervations— The  great  mountains— Southeastern  Oregon — General  de- 
scription— Industries. 

SOUTHERN  Oregon  is  defined  generally  as  bounded 
on  the  west  by  the  Pacific,  and  starting  from  its  western 
boundary  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Calapooya 
Mountains,  shutting  in  the  Umpqua  Valley,  and  then 
running  eastward,  taking  in  the  lake  country.  In  this 
division  are  included  the  western  counties  of  Douglas, 
Coos,  Curry,  Josephine,  Jackson,  Lake,  and  the  south- 
ern half  of  Grant  and  Baker.  A  great  portion  of  the 
last-named  counties  is  yet  un surveyed. 

The  western  counties  already  possess,  according  to 
the  census  of  1880,  a  population  of  29,081  souls. 

The  portions  of  Grant  and  Baker  Counties  properly 
belonging  to  Southern  Oregon  have  only  about  two 
thousand  people,  the  reason  being  that  this  country  is 
truly  inaccessible,  being  so  far  distant  from  the  sea- 
board, and  hardly  traversed  by  a  road. 

Southern  Oregon  possesses  several  rivers  and  their 
attendant  seaports.  The  most  southerly  is  the  Eogue 
Eiver,  which  has  a  course  of  about  one  hundred  miles, 


244  2  WO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

running  through  a  very  fertile  but  secluded  valley. 
The  bar  at  the  entrance  is  shifting,  and  the  channel 
very  variable  ;  but  it  is  entered  by  both  small  steamers 
and  by  the  coasting  schooners  which  ply  along  the 
coast,  with  San  Francisco  as  their  port  of  delivery. 

Coos  Bay,  some  sixty  miles  to  the  north  of  the  Eogue 
River,  needs  a  fuller  description,  as  it  is  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  coal  and  lumber  business  of  Southern  Ore- 
gon. Detailed  reports  of  the  coal-basin  give  not  less 
than  seventy-five  thousand  acres  of  coal-bearing  land, 
estimated  to  produce  from  the  one  vein  at  present 
worked  not  less  than  four  hundred  and  fifty  million 
tons  of  coal.  As  many  as  six  workable  seams  are,  how- 
ever, known  to  exist,  including  one  which  has  been 
prospected  to  eleven  feet  in  thickness.  Five  coal- 
mines have  been  opened,  which  are  capable  of  produc- 
ing about  two  thousand  tons  of  coal  daily.  The  work- 
ing of  these  mines  is  of  an  inexpensive  character,  much 
of  the  mineral  being  accessible  from  adits  or  galleries 
delivering  their  produce  on  the  hill-sides. 

The  lumber  shipped  at  Coos  Bay  is  yielded  by  four 
large  steam  saw-mills,  with  an  aggregate  capacity  of 
about  one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  feet  per  day. 

There  are  also  four  ship-yards,  from  which  between 
forty  and  fifty  vessels  have  been  launched,  even  up  to 
two  thousand  tons  burden. 

The  value  of  coal  and  lumber  exported  from  Coos 
Bay  was  upward  of  $445,000  in  the  year  1877,  accord- 
ing to  the  statistics  collected  by  a  committee  of  resi- 
dents, when  application  was  about  to  be  made  to  Con- 
gress for  an  appropriation  for  the  improvement  of  the 
harbor.  It  was  then  reported  that  a  railroad  was  found 
to  be  practicable  from  Coos  Bay  along  the  Coquille  Val- 


SHIFTING  AND  BLOWING  SANDS.         245 

ley  across  the  Coast  Mountains.  Such  a  line  would 
then  pass  through  the  Umpqua  Valley  to  Roseburg, 
with  a  practicable  extension  up  the  North  Fork  of  the 
Umpqua  River  and  through  the  Cascade  Mountains  into 
Eastern  Oregon. 

It  was  ascertained  that  the  chief  difficulty  in  im- 
proving the  entrance  to  the  port  lay  in  the  enormous 
quantity  of  movable  and  shifting  sand,  driven  along 
the  coast  southward  by  the  prevalent  summer  north- 
west winds,  and  then  returned  by  the  winter  southwest 
gales. 

So  violent  is  this  action  that  it  is  thus  described  : 
"  Large  tracts  to  the  north  of  Coos  Bay  and  along  the 
rock  separating  its  lower  part  from  the  sea,  where  once 
stood  farms  and  pine-forests,  are  now  buried  to  the  tops 
of  the  highest  trees.  Immense  quantities  of  this  wind- 
borne  sand  are  constantly  going  into  the  bay,  and  by 
its  swift  currents  are  carried  out  to  form  the  bar,  or 
be  deposited  in  the  bight  to  the  east  and  north  of  the 
cape." 

Let  me  quote  a  short  description  of  this  section  of 
the  country,  on  which  before  many  years  the  tide  of 
immigration  must  roll  in.  The  writer  is  the  Hon.  B. 
Hermann,  who  is  doing  all  in  his  power  to  draw  public 
attention  to  his  district : 

"  Ten-mile  and  Camas  Valleys,  being  respectively  ten 
and  fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles  from  the  terminus  of  the 
Oregon  and  California  Railroad  at  Roseburg,  are  with- 
out any  other  outlet.  The  cost  of  teaming  to  this  point, 
added  to  the  present  exorbitant  rates  of  railway  freights, 
discourages  the  farmers  of  those  sections  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil.  And  yet  some  of  the  best  and  most  ex- 
tensive wheat-fields  of  the  country  are  within  those  cir- 


24:6  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

cults,  while  a  vast  area  is  left  annually  to  grow  brush 
and  weeds,  and  to  remain  of  comparatively  little  value., 
which  should  otherwise  contribute  to  the  harvest  of 
thousands  of  bushels  of  the  finest  grain. 

"  From  Camas  Valley,  and  along  the  Middle  Fork 
of  the  Coquille  Kiver,  until  its  junction  with  the  main 
stream  is  reached,  a  distance  of  twenty-eight  miles  by 
survey,  three  fourths  of  the  route  is  without  even  a 
wagon-road  communication,  travel  being  by  trail,  with 
ox  and  sled,  saddle  and  pack  horse.  And  yet  there  is 
found  a  goodly  population,  having  substantial  improve- 
ments, some  very  good  farms  in  cultivation,  with  flour- 
ing-mills  for  the  local  accommodation. 

"  The  land  is  very  fertile,  and  capable  of  growing 
the  usual  cereals  and  esculents  to  perfection,  but,  ow- 
ing to  the  great  difficulty  of  transporting  the  produc- 
tions to  market,  a  very  small  portion  only  is  cultivated, 
and  much  remains  vacant,  subject  to  homestead  and 
preemption.  .  .  . 

"From  the  junction  with  the  main  river,  and  fol- 
lowing the  latter  to  near  Beaver  Slough,  or  Coquille 
City,  the  point  of  diversion  of  the  route  toward  Coos 
Bay,  an  enterprising  community  is  found,  owning  bot- 
tom-lands of  rich  alluvial  soil,  a  great  portion  of  which 
is  now  being  cleared  of  timber,  annually  placed  under 
cultivation,  and  large  crops  of  grain  garnered.  This 
same  remark  applies  to  all  the  remaining  portion  of  the 
main  Coquille  Valley,  a  distance  of  forty  miles  or  more 
to  the  sea,  and  also  along  the  North  and  Soutli  Forks,  as 
well  as  the  smaller  tributaries.  For  a  distance  of  sev- 
enty-five miles  inland  the  Coquille  Valley  is  capable  of 
extensive  agricultural  development.  Already  this  dis- 
tance is  closely  peopled,  all  lands  on  the  main  stream 


COST  OF  TRANSPORTATION.  247 

settled,  and  improvements  slowly  made.  Much  grain 
is  now  grown  here,  a  large  proportion  manufactured 
into  flour  by  the  various  mills  for  home  consumption 
and  shipment  to  Coos  Bay,  while  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  the  grain  is  exported  to  San  Francisco  through 
the  mouth  of  the  river. 

"  Owing,  however,  to  the  condition  of  the  Coquille 
entrance,  only  small  ships  venture  in,  and  even  they  are 
often  delayed  in  the  river  for  months  at  a  time,  with 
the  shippers'  cargo  on  board.  .  .  . 

"Thus  the  hopeful  people  of  this  extensive  and 
unrivaled  valley  for  its  soil,  its  productions,  its  coals, 
timber,  and  other  abundant  natural  resources,  are 
virtually  left  without  an  exit  to  the  markets  of  the 
world.  .  .  . 

"  The  cost  on  each  bushel  of  wheat  for  transporta- 
tion to  Portland  from  any  point  in  the  Umpqua  Val- 
ley is  twenty-three  cents,  to  say  nothing  of  the  added 
expense  of  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  to  Astoria, 
thence  by  sea  to  San  Francisco  and  elsewhere.  From 
Eoseburg  to  San  Francisco  by  way  of  Portland  and  As- 
toria is  about  eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles,  and 
from  Roseburg  to  San  Francisco  by  the  way  of  Coos 
Bay  is  only  four  hundred  and  sixty- five  miles. 

"Mr.  James  Dillard,  as  we  are  credibly  informed, 
produced  last  year  on  his  farm  in  Douglas  County 
about  six  thousand  bushels  of  grain.  To  have  trans- 
ported this  only  to  Portland  on  its  way  to  market 
would  have  cost  him  $1,380.  The  saving  in  transpor- 
tation to  Coos  Bay  by  eighty-five  miles  of  narrow- 
gauge  road  would  be  to  this  one  farmer  on  one  year's 
crop  $780." 

No  wonder  that  in  this  district,  as  in  all  others  in 


24:8  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  State,  the  transportation  question  should  be  the  burn- 
ing one  of  the  day. 

The  Coos  Bay  people  succeeded  in  gaining  the  ear 
of  Congress,  and  two  years  ago  an  appropriation  of 
$60,000  was  made  for  the  improvement  of  the  harbor. 

The  problem  was  a  very  difficult  one  for  the  engi- 
neers to  solve,  from  the  conditions  above  stated  of  the 
driven  and  shifting  sand.  It  would  not  have  been 
strange  if  the  works  first  planned  had  needed  alterations 
as  they  progressed. 

But  the  success  of  the  breakwater  constructed  by 
the  United  States  engineers  from  cheap  material, 
available  on  the  spot,  has  been  sufficiently  marked 
to  encourage  the  requests  for  further  appropriations 
until  the  plans  are  executed  in  their  entirety,  and  the 
opening  of  the  harbor  carried  still  farther  out  to 
sea. 

It  is  reported  now  (in  the  spring  of  1881)  that  the 
north  sand-spit  is  being  cut  through  by  the  current  in 
the  direction  indicated  by  the  lines  of  the  breakwater, 
and  that  deeper  and  more  constant  water  is  found  than 
heretofore — a  good  augury  of  success  for  similar  works 
where  the  obstructions  are  not  so  shifting  as  sand  alone, 
and  where  they  are  free  from  the  influence  of  the  sand 
tracts  to  the  north,  whence  so  much  of  the  obstruction 
to  Coos  Bay  entrance  came.  And  this  is  our  happy 
case  at  Yaquina. 

The  Umpqua  Eiver  is  the  largest  river  that,  rising 
in  the  Cascades,  and  draining  a  large  and  fertile  valley 
in  its  course,  flows  directly  into  the  Pacific,  after  cut- 
ting its  channel  through  the  Coast  Range.  There  is  a 
wide  and  very  shifting  bar  at  its  mouth,  through  which 
the  usual  channel  gives  twelve  or  thirteen  feet  at  low 


THE  LAKE  COUNTRY.  249 

water.  The  river  is  navigable  for  all  vessels  which  can 
cross  the  bar  as  far  as  Gardner  City,  five  miles  from 
the  mouth,  while  smaller  vessels  can  get  as  far  as  Scotts- 
burg,  twenty-five  miles  up. 

Douglas  County,  now  possessing  a  population  of 
9,596,  is  capable  of  sustaining  a  vastly  increased  num- 
ber. It  lies  almost  surrounded  by  mountains,  but 
with  a  good  outlet  to  the  north  along  the  valley  lands 
through  which  the  Oregon  and  California  Eailroad 
runs.  It  is  well  watered  throughout  by  the  Umpqua 
and  its  tributaries,  while  the  northern  portion  of  the 
county  forms  the  head  of  the  great  Willamette,  the 
aggregate  of  many  creeks  and  streams  having  here 
their  rise. 

The  climate  of  Jackson  County  is  a  good  deal  warm- 
er than  its  mere  geographical  relations  to  the  counties 
on  the  north  and  east  of  it  would  account  for.  Indian 
corn  is  a  staple  crop,  and  peaches  and  vines  flourish 
exceedingly.  The  sun  seems  to  have  more  power  ;  and 
I  have  a  vivid  remembrance  of  heat  and  dust  along  its 
roads. 

Lake  County  is  well  named.  Huge  depressions  in 
the  land  are  filled  with  the  Upper  and  Lower  Kla- 
math  Lakes,  the  latter  crossing  the  California  boundary- 
line. 

North  of  the  Upper  Klamath  Lake,  again,  some 
twenty  miles,  is  the  Klamath  Marsh,  doubtless  not 
long  since  another  lake — now,  in  summer,  the  feeding- 
ground  for  cattle,  in  winter  the  home  of  innumerable 
flocks  of  migratory  birds.  Between  the  Upper  and 
Lower  Klamath  Lakes  runs  a  rapid  water-course.  The 
town  of  Linkville  stands  on  its  banks.  I  am  told  that 
there  is  water-power  enough  here  to  drive  as  many 


250  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

mills  as  are  found  at  Lowell,  Massachusetts.  At  Link- 
yille  is  the  land-office  for  Southern  Oregon. 

It  has  been  proposed  to  run  the  California  extension 
of  the  Oregon  and  California  Eailroad  through  the  gap 
between  Upper  and  Lower  Klamath  Lakes.  Should 
that  long-talked-of  project  ever  be  realized,  the  manu- 
facturing facilities  of  this  splendid  water-power  will  no 
longer  be  suffered  to  lie  dead. 

Passing  eastward,  the  great  Klamath  Indian  reserva- 
tion is  reached — a  tract  I  only  know  by  hearsay  as  a 
land  of  hills  and  streams,  of  gullies  and  water-courses, 
of  lava-beds  and  barrenness  intermixed  with  quiet  vales 
and  dells  of  wondrous  beauty — a  land  where  Indian 
superstitions  cluster  thickly.  The  Indians  are  few 
and  scattered,  and  this  country,  no  doubt,  ere  long 
will  be  thrown  open  to  the  white  traveler  and  hunter, 
to  be  quickly  followed  by  the  herdsman  and  the 
settler. 

The  great  snowy  pyramids  of  the  Southern  Cascades 
stand  on  guard.  Mount  Scott  (8,500  feet),  Mount  Pitt 
(9,250),  and  Mount  Thielsen  (9,250)  are  placed  there, 
thirty  miles  apart,  forbidding  passage  between  the  warm 
valleys  of  Jackson  County  and  the  open  plains  east  of 
the  mountains. 

But  here,  too,  the  hardy  pioneers  have  found  their 
way.  I  have  talked  with  several  men  who  are  herding 
sheep  and  cattle  on  these  plains.  The  merino  thrives 
here  even  better  than  in  Northeastern  Oregon,  and 
many  thousand  pounds  of  wool  are  raised.  They  de- 
scribe the  country  as  one  of  open  plain  and  rocky  hill- 
side, of  scarce  water  and  abundant  sage-brush  ;  resem- 
bling in  general  features  the  tract  fifty  miles  to  the 
north,  but,  alas  !  containing  scarcely  any  of  the  creeks 


THE  IDAHO  BOUNDARY.  251 

and  streams  which  give  life   and  fertility  to  Middle 
Oregon. 

Eastward  again  of  Stein's  Mountains  you  strike  the 
head- waters  of  the  Owyhee,  an  important  tributary  of 
the  Snake,  and  at  once  recur  the  common  features 
of  fertility  and  consequent  settlement.  And  thus  the 
Idaho  boundary  is  reached. 


CHAPTEE  XXII. 

Tne  towns—  Approach  to  Oregon—  The  steamers—  The  Columbia  entrance 

—  Astoria  —  Its  situation,  industries,  development  —  Salmon  —  Shipping 
—Loading  and  discharging  cargo—  Up  the  Columbia  and  Willamette 
to  Portland  —  Portland,  West  and  East  —  Population  —  Public  build- 
ings—United States  District  Court—  The  judge—  Public  Library—  The 
Bishop  schools  —  Hospital  —  Churches  —  Stores  —  Chinese  quarter  — 
Banks—  Industries—  The  city's  prosperity—  Its  causes—  Its  probable 
future  —  The  Oregon  Eailway  and  Navigation  Company  —  Shipping 
abuses   and  exactions—  Eailroad  termini  —  Up    the   Columbia  —  The 
Dalles—  Up  the  Willamette—  Oregon  City,  its  history—  The  falls— 
Salem  —  Its  position   and  development  —  Capitol  buildings  —  Flour- 
mills—  Oil-mills—  Buena  Vista  potteries—  Albany—  Its  water-power— 
Flour-mills  —  Values  of  land  —  Corvallis  —  The  line  of  the  Oregon  Pacific 
Eailroad—  Eugene,   its   university  and  professors  —  Eoseburg  —  The 
West-side  Eailroad  to  Portland—  Development  of  the  country  —  Pros- 
perity —  Counties   of  Oregon  —  Their  population  —  Taxable  property 

—  Average  possessions  —  In  the  Willamette  Valley  —  In  Eastern  Ore- 
gon —  In  Eastern  Oregon  tributary  to  Columbia  and  Snake  Eivers. 


said  so  much  about  the  country,  something 
needs  to  be  said  about  the  towns.  All  persons  reaching 
Oregon,  save  those  few  who  choose  to  face  the  three 
nights  and  two  days  of  staging  that  divide  Redding 
(the  northern  terminus  of  the  California  and  Oregon 
Railroad)  from  Roseburg  (the  southern  terminus  of  the 
Oregon  and  California  Railroad),  enter  Oregon  by  ship 
from  San  Francisco.  And  here,  in  passing,  a  word  of 
praise  for  the  really  beautiful  and  commodious  steamers 
which  have  now  replaced  the  Ajax  and  the  other  mon- 


ASTORIA.  253 

eters  which  disgraced  the  traffic  they  were  furnished 
for,  as  well  as  their  owners.  No  better  boats  ply  on  any 
waters  than  the  State  of  California,  the  Columbia,  and 
the  Oregon.  The  first  two  are  new  ships,  with  electric 
lights,  and  all  other  appliances  to  match.  All  are  safe 
and  speedy.  The  State  of  California  belongs  to  the 
Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Company,  the  others  to  the 
Oregon  Kailway  and  Navigation  Company. 

The  approach  to  Oregon  is  forbidding  and  stern. 
There  is  nothing  attractive  in  the  sandy  coast,  in  the 
muddy  water,  in  the  broken  but  not  romantic  scenery, 
where  the  water  is  encroaching  on  the  land,  and  shift- 
ing its  position  and  attack  from  time  to  time.  Here 
and  there  along  the  edge  are  strewed,  or  stand  in  various 
attitudes  of  death,  the  skeletons  of  the  pine-trees,  which 
look  like  the  relics  of  battle,  the  perishing  remains  of 
the  beaten  defenders  of  the  coast ;  and,  once  over  the 
bar,  that  terror  to  sea-worn  travelers,  the  approach  to 
Astoria  can  hardly  be  called  beautiful. 

But  the  city  of  Astoria  itself  has  claims  to  beauty 
of  position.  It  lies  within  the  course  of  the  Columbia  ; 
though  here  the  estuary  is  so  wide  as  to  give  the  idea  of 
a  lake.  Jutting  out  into  the  bay  above  the  town  rises 
a  little  promontory,  crowned  with  firs ;  and  between 
the  eye  rests  on  the  unfamiliar  outlines  of  a  large  can- 
nery, the  buildings  of  gray  wood,  based  on  piles  sunk 
into  the  mud  of  the  bay,  and  the  long,  shingled  roofs 
catching  the  rays  of  the  departing  sun. 

The  city  consists  of  a  mass  of  wooden  structures  low 
down  by  the  water's  edge — wharves  and  docks  and  re- 
pairing-yards  in  front,  and  a  long  line  of  stores  and 
saloons  and  business-houses  behind,  broken  by  the  more 
imposing  custom-house,  post-office,  and  churches.  On 


254:  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  slopes  of  the  high  hills  rising  from  near  the  water's 
edge  are  the  scattered  white  houses  of  the  inhabitants, 
while  the  sky-line  of  the  hills  is  broken  through  by  the 
cutting  by  which  many  tons  of  stone  and  sand  are  being 
piled  into  the  bay.  The  city  proper  mainly  stands  on 
piles,  the  water  gurgling  and  lapping  round  the  barna- 
cles, which  cluster  thick  ;  the  enterprise  of  the  people 
is  fast  filling  in  underneath  from  the  hills  behind. 

There  are  large  and  substantial  docks  of  the  Oregon 
Kailway  and  Navigation  Company  and  others  adjoining, 
where  are  generally  lying  two  or  three  large  ships  or 
barks,  going  out  or  returning  from  their  long  and 
weary  voyage. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  place  in  the  salmon-season 
is  fishy,  huge  stacks  of  boxed  salmon  filling  the  wharves. 
The  principal  street  is  fringed  with  saloons,  mainly 
looking  for  custom  to  the  fishermen  and  seamen. 

There  is  a  large  lumber-mill,  which  makes  the  air 
resonant  with  the  shriek  of  the  great  saws;  and  a 
boot-and-shoe  factory  has  been  recently  established. 
Other  industries  exist ;  but  it  is  as  a  seaport  that  As- 
toria justifies  its  existence  and  the  foresight  of  its 
founders. 

Clatsop  County  has  7,200  inhabitants,  of  which,  I 
suppose,  Astoria  claims  a  third.  There  is  an  air  of 
business  and  life  about  the  place,  and  there  will  be,  so 
far  as  I  can  see,  even  though  means  should  be  found 
of  ending  the  present  practice  of  all  large  ships  go- 
ing to  sea  from  Portland  being  towed  to  Astoria,  and 
followed  by  scows  and  barges,  there  to  complete  their 
loading  for  their  outward  voyage.  A  similar  necessity 
exists  for  incoming  ships  to  stay  at  Astoria  to  discharge 
a  large  portion  of  their  cargo  before  facing  the  shal- 


PORTLAND.  255 

lows  and  mud-banks  of  the  Willamette  on  the  way  to 
Portland  as  their  port  of  discharge. 

The  voyage  up  the  Columbia  for  a  hundred  miles, 
and  up  the  Willamette  for  twelve,  to  Portland,  has  many 
charms.  First,  the  grand  stream  of  the  mighty  Colum-. 
bia,  telling  in  its  size  and  volume  of  the  three  thousand 
miles  some  of  its  waters  have  come  from  their  far-off 
sources  among  distant  mountains ;  then  the  banks,  ris- 
ing generally  sheer  from  the  water's  edge,  crowned  with 
rich  and  varied  vegetation,  and  here  and  there  the 
rugged  rocks  breaking  through,  to  give  clearness  and 
strength  to  outline ;  and  then  on  either  side  the  more 
distant  hills,  clothed  with  the  dark  fir-timber  to  their 
summits,  and  behind  the  mountains  proper,  with  Mount 
Hood  and  Mount  Saint  Helen's  showing  their  snowy 
heads.  Here  and  there  in  a  niche  or  angle  under  the 
bank  lie  huddled  close  the  buildings  of  a  cannery,  the 
blue  smoke  rising  from  the  central  chimney,  and  the 
white  boats  tied  to  the  piling  which  juts  out  into  the 
deep  water  of  the  river. 

You  are  hardly  conscious  of  leaving  the  Columbia 
for  the  Willamette.  It  looks  as  if  it  were  an  island  in 
mid-stream  behind  and  to  the  south  of  which  you  are 
about  to  pass ;  but  soon  you  find  that  the  supposed 
island  is  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Willamette,  and,  pass- 
ing beacons  and  marks,  set  to  define  the  channel  with 
the  accuracy  that  is  absolutely  needed  (since  a  sheer  to 
the  east  or  west  of  only  a  yard  or  two  would  leave  you 
fast  in  a  mud-bank  for  hours),  you  come  in  sight  of 
Portland. 

I  ought  to  have  noticed  that  here  and  there  along 
the  banks  coming  up,  almost  on  the  river's  level  and 
exposed  to  inundation  at  each  high  water,  you  pass 


256  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

dairy-farms,  consisting  of  a  shanty,  or  tumble-down 
house,  and  a  few  acres  of  rank  and  muddy  pasture, 
where  ague  seems  to  sit  brooding  on  the  branches  of 
the  trees,  whose  trunks  and  limbs  yet  bear  the  traces  of 
last  season's  flood. 

But  now  for  the  juvenile  but  audacious  Portland, 
who  describes  herself  as  "the  commercial  metropolis  of 
the  Northwest."  One  considerable  suburb,  called  East 
Portland,  stands  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Willamette ; 
but  the  main  part  of  the  town  is  on  the  west  bank,  and 
now  nearly  fills  all  the  level  land  between  the  river  and 
the  hills  behind,  which  seem  to  be  pushing  at  and  re- 
senting the  intrusion  of  the  streets  along  their  sides. 
Extensions  are  taking  place  along  the  northern  end, 
where  a  considerable  stretch  of  low-lying  land  is  yet 
available  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  also  to  some 
extent  at  the  farther  or  southern  end  of  the  city.  The 
building  westward  is  mounting  the  hill-sides,  already 
dotted  with  the  somewhat  pretentious  wooden  houses  of 
the  more  prosperous  towns-people. 

To  one  who  has  seen  real  cities  it  is  but  a  little  place ; 
but  some  of  its  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  thousand  in- 
habitants raise  claims  to  greatness  and  even  supremacy 
that  make  it  difficult  to  suppress  a  smile.  In  thirty- 
five  years  the  place  has  grown  from  a  collection  of  log- 
huts,  set  down  as  if  by  chance,  to  its  present  dimen- 
sions, and,  no  doubt,  could  go  on  growing  as  fast  as  Ore- 
gon developed,  could  the  same  conditions  last.  The  city 
consists  of  near  a  dozen  streets  running  parallel  with 
the  Willamette,  and  about  twenty-three  at  right  angles. 
Front  Street  and  First  Street  contain  some  brick  build- 
ings, remarkable  for  so  very  young  a  place  :  the  former 
backs  on  the  Willamette,  and  on  it  front  the  ware- 


THE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY.  257 

houses  and  wharves,  against  the  backs  of  which  the 
ships  are  moored;  the  latter  contains  nearly  all  the 
city's  stores  and  shops  of  any  consequence. 

The  United  States  District  and  Circuit  Courts  sit 
at  Portland.  The  former  is  and  has  been  for  several 
years  presided  over  by  the  Hon.  Matthew  P.  Deady. 
This  gentleman's  name  will  be  long  associated  with  the 
jurisprudence  of  Oregon,  having  been  one  of  the  origi- 
nal compilers  of  the  Code,  and  reporter  of  the  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  until,  promoted  to 
the  bench  of  the  United  States  Court,  he  has  taken  a 
high  place  as  a  conscientious  and  able  judge.  To  him 
also  Portland  mainly  owes  that  which  I  consider  the 
chief  ornament  and  pride  of  the  city,  rather  than  the 
ambitious  but  faulty  structures  in  wood,  stone,  and 
iron  on  which  most  of  the  citizens  glorify  themselves — 
I  mean  the  Public  Library.  This  institution  has  its 
headquarters  in  spacious  rooms  over  Messrs.  Ladd  & 
Tilton's  Bank  ;  the  shelves  are  filled  with  upward  of 
ten  thousand  well-selected  books,  and  the  process  of 
addition  is  going  on  under  the  same  careful  oversight. 
Here  every  evening  are  groups  of  readers,  and  it  must 
be  a  source  of  constant  satisfaction  to  the  judge  to  have 
been  the  means  of  organizing  and  continuing  the  suc- 
cessful working  of  an  institution  which  is  effecting 
silent  but  untold  good. 

Portland  is  also  the  residence  of  Bishop  Morris,  of 
the  Episcopal  Church.  He  has  resided  there  for  twelve 
years  past ;  and  to  him  the  city  is  indebted  for  the  St. 
Vincent's  Hospital,  where  accidents  are  treated  at  all 
times,  and  which  is  open  for  receiving  besides  a  certain 
number  of  sick  persons.  The  bishop  has  also  founded 
and  kept  going  the  Bishop  Scott  Grammar  -  School- 


258  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

This  is  a  high-school  for  boys.  Last  year  it  had  fifty- 
nine  pupils  and  five  teachers,  and  a  sound  and  solid 
education  is  there  given.  St.  Helen's  Hall,  the  best 
girls'  school  in  the  State,  was  also  founded  by  him. 
There  were  here  one  hundred  and  sixty  pupils  and 
twelve  teachers  last  year.  Other  churches  exert  them- 
selves to  occupy  and  hold  prominent  positions  in  the 
city  :  notably  the  Eoman  Catholics,  whose  archbishop, 
Seghers,  resides  in  Portland,  and  who  have  erected  a 
large  red-brick  cathedral.  It  is  as  yet  unfinished,  but 
a  further  effort  by  the  Eoman  Catholics  in  the  diocese 
is  about  to  be  made  to  complete  and  furnish  it. 

There  is  a  fair  theatre  in  the  city ;  it  is  occupied 
now  and  again  by  a  traveling  troupe  from  San  Francis- 
co, generally  consisting  of  a  star,  and  his  or  her  supports 
of  a  more  or  less  wooden  consistency. 

The  building  of  the  Mechanics'  Fair,  which  is  used 
for  balls  and  concerts,  one  or  two  Masonic  and  societies' 
halls,  the  rooms  of  the  several  fire  companies,  and  those 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  complete 
the  list.  There  are  a  good  many  expensive  stores  of  all 
kinds,  and  all  seem  prosperous. 

The  Chinese  quarter  is,  of  course,  not  so  large  and 
picturesque  as  in  San  Francisco,  but  it  is  equally  well 
marked  :  a  complete  range  of  Chinese  stores,  with  doc- 
tors' shops  and  theatre,  the  usual  lanterns  hung  out 
over  the  doors,  and  the  common  display  of  curious  edi- 
bles. There  are  several  substantial  Chinese  firms  and 
business-houses  ;  one  of  their  chief  sources  of  revenue 
is  the  bringing  over  and  hiring  out  the  large  numbers 
of  Chinese  laborers  required  for  the  railway  works  now 
in  progress.  The  census  disclosed  nineteen  hundred 
Chinamen  as  residents  of  Multnomah  County  ;  I  sup- 


BANKS  AND  MANUFACTORIES.  259- 

pose  eighteen  hundred  of  them  were  found  in  Port- 
land. 

Four  banks  do  a  large  general  business,  and  there  is 
also  a  savings-bank.  A  mortgage  company,  having  its 
headquarters  in  Scotland,  at  Dundee,  takes  up  cheap 
money  in  Scotland,  and  lends  it  out  to  great  advantage 
in  Oregon,  at  the  rates  prevalent  here,  with  results  sat- 
isfactory to  its  manager,  Mr.  William  Reid,  as  well  as 
to  its  stockholders. 

There  are  two  iron- works,  a  large  sash  and  door  fac- 
tory, a  brewery,  and  a  twine  and  rope  factory,  but  be- 
yond these  scarcely  any  manufacturing  industry. 

The  prosperity  of  the  city,  which  has  been  very 
great  during  the  last  few  years,  is  solely  attributable  to 
its  character  of  toll-gate.  Situated  at  the  extreme 
northern  boundary  of  the  State,  in  a  position  which 
was  not  unsuitable  when  Oregon  and  Washington  Ter- 
ritory were  bound  together,  it  is  perfectly  anomalous 
to  suppose  that  the  capital  city  of  Oregon  should  have 
been  there  placed  by  deliberate  intention.  As  mat- 
ters now  stand,  it  is  the  only  port  in  Oregon,  save  As- 
toria, to  which  the  large  grain-ships  can  come,  and  at 
which  the  deep-draught  ocean-going  steamers  can  take 
in  and  discharge  their  cargoes  ;  and,  very  naturally,  its 
business-men  seek  to  perpetuate  that  state  of  affairs, 
regardless  of  the  growing  interest  of  the  great  country 
which  now  pays  tribute  to  their  little  town.  It  is  not 
easy  to  forget  how  more  than  one  of  its  leading  citizens, 
when  applied  to  to  add  their  signatures  to  a  petition  to 
Congress  in  aid  of  the  removal  of  the  reef  partially  ob- 
structing Yaquina  Bay,  replied,  "  Every  dollar  you  get 
is  so  much  taken  directly  from  our  pockets. " 

A  further  adventitious  help  that  Portland  got  was 


260  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

by  being  made  the  headquarters  of  the  Oregon  Steam 
Navigation  Company,  which  brought  to  its  wharves  the 
produce  of  the  Columbia  Eiver  traffic  as  well  as  that  of 
the  Willamette.  It  might  be  natural  to  bring  to  and  to 
leave  at  Portland  wharves  the  wheat  of  Western  Ore- 
gon, but  there  seems  little  sense  in  bringing  grain  down 
the  Columbia,  and  then  up  the  Willamette,  to  be  de- 
posited in  Portland,  thence  to  be  transferred  partly  in 
ships,  partly  in  barges  and  river-steamers,  to  Astoria, 
where  alone  the  loading  of  the  ships  could  be  completed. 

The  present  style  of  the  Portland  and  Astoria  news- 
papers is  to  make  very  light  of  the  Columbia  bar.  In 
fact,  they  boldly  state  that  to  hardly  any  port  is  so  good 
an  approach  vouchsafed  as  to  Portland ;  they  instance 
London  and  Philadelphia,  Glasgow  and  New  Orleans,  as 
parallel  instances  in  position ;  and  "  The  Oregonian  "  is 
never  weary  of  singing  the  praises  of  their  Tom  Tid- 
dler's ground  of  a  city. 

But  it  has  not  always  been  so  with  them.  "The 
Astorian"  stated,  on  the  30th  of  January,  1880,  that 
there  were  thirty  vessels  off  the  bar,  unable  to  enter. 
The  same  paper,  on  the  23d  of  March,  1880,  published 
this  item  of  news  :  "  Pilots  on  the  bar  all  agree  that, 
unless  some  measures  are  adopted  for  permanent  im- 
provement of  the  channel,  it  will  not  be  longer  consid- 
ered safe  for  vessels  to  enter  or  cross  out  with  more  than 
eighteen  feet  draught  of  water.  "The  Astorian"  in 
the  same  issue  also  informed  us  that  "  Captain  Flavel 
has  been  making  personal  inspections  of  bar-soundings, 
.  .  .  and  is  himself  fully  satisfied  that  it  is  only  a  ques- 
tion of  very  brief  time,  so  rapid  and  broadcast  is  the 
shoaling  process,  when  it  will  be  impossible  for  deep 
vessels  to  cross  ;  the  North  Channel,  along  Sand  Island 


SHIPPING  ABUSES  AND  EXACTIONS.      261 

from  the  head,  is  filling  up  as  fast  as  does  the  South 
Channel"  ;  while  "  The  Oregonian"  told  us  as  recently 
as  December,  1880,  that  "the  Gatherer,  with  railroad- 
iron  for  the  Northern  Pacific  Eailroad  Company,  was 
compelled  to  lighter  four  times  between  Baker's  Bay 
and  Kalama,  at  heavy  expense.  The  Chandos,  sailing 
from  this  port  within  the  past  two  weeks,  lightered  thir- 
teen hundred  tons.  The  A.  M.  Simpson  lightered 
eleven  hundred  tons  ;  and  the  last  departure,  the  Edwin 
Eeed,  getting  off  on  a  winter  rain-flood,  scraped  over 
the  shoals  with  all  but  two  hundred  and  eighty  tons  of 
her  load,  the  lightest  lighterage  of  a  wooden  vessel  for 
many  months.  The  report  has  gone  forth  that  to  reach 
Portland  a  ship  must  be  dragged  up  a  hundred  miles  or 
more  of  river  over  four  bad  bars,  and  at  the  shipping 
season  lighterage  at  enormous  cost  is  necessary.  Nat- 
urally enough,  we  now  have  no  large  ships." 

The  abuses  of  the  present  system  of  shipping  are 
many  and  great,  and  all  on  the  principle  of  making  hay 
while  the  sun  shines.  Hear  a  shipmaster  who  published 
his  experiences  in  October  last : 

"  On  the  fourth  day  we  got  two  tugs  and  crossed 
the  outer  bar  and  anchored  in  Baker's  Bay,  where  the 
ship  had  to  be  lightened  to  twenty  feet  and  six  inches 
draught  before  she  could  cross  the  inner  bar  and  reach 
Astoria.  This  lighterage  cost  two  dollars  per  ton,  and 
had  to  be  paid  by  the  ship.  As  four  other  ships  ar- 
rived about  that  time  which  required  lightering  also 
before  they  could  proceed  farther,  we  were  detained  at 
Baker's  Bay  for  nine  days,  having  the  expense  of  a  full 
crew  on  board  all  that  time.  The  distance  from  out- 
side of  the  outer  bar  to  Astoria  is  about  fourteen  miles, 
for  which  the  towage  is  $500,  pilotage  $192,  and  that 


262  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

was  in  the  middle  of  a  beautiful  day,  ship  also  using 
her  own  canvas  and  hawser.  I  believe  this  charge  is 
almost  equal  to  salvage.  The  pilots  are  hired  by  the 
owner  of  the  tugs,  who  collects  the  pilotage,  paying  the 
pilots  $100  a  month  for  their  services.  ...  As  the 
pilots  have  no  boat  of  their  own,  they  are  obliged  to  go 
in  the  tugs,  which  are  all  owned  by  one  man.  I  was 
just  fourteen  days  from  the  time  I  anchored  off  the  bar 
till  I  reached  the  dock  where  I  was  to  discharge  cargo, 
and  for  towage  and  pilotage  alone  from  the  bar  to  the 
dock,  paid  $1,009." 

Portland  is  the  Oregon  headquarters  of  the  Oregon 
Eailway  and  Navigation  Company,  a  corporation  formed 
by  the  fertile  genius  of  Mr.  Henry  Villard  in  June, 
1879,  by  the  amalgamation  of  the  Oregon  Steamship 
Company,  owning  the  ocean-going  steamers  between  San 
Francisco  and  Portland,  and  the  Oregon  Steam  Naviga- 
tion Company,  owning  the  river-boats  plying  on  the 
Columbia  and  Willamette.  Here  are  the  termini  of  the 
East  and  West  Side  Railroads  (originally  formed  by  Mr. 
Ben  Holladay,  a  name  very  familiar  to  Oregon  ears), 
but  until  this  spring  of  1881  owned  and  worked  by  the 
committee  of  European  bondholders,  into  whose  hands 
the  lines  in  question  fell  by  virtue  of  the  securities  they 
held.  And  in  Portland  also  are  the  head  offices  in  Ore- 
gon of  the  Scotch  system  of  narrow-gauge  railroads, 
now  being  constructed  by  means  of  Scotch  capital  at- 
tracted to  the  State  by  the  successful  working  of  the 
land-mortgage  company  referred  to  above. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  there  are  abundant 
reasons  for  predicting  that  a  large  portion  of  the  busi- 
ness of  Oregon  will  center  in  Portland,  for  many  years 
to  come,  at  any  rate.  The  more  cause  that  Portland 


UP  TEE  COLUMBIA    RIVER.  263 

men  should  welcome  the  development  of  the  other  por- 
tions of  the  State,  with  which  in  the  future  profitable 
business  is  certain  to  arise,  as  new  industries  are  started, 
existing  interests  widen  and  strengthen  themselves,  and 
new  centers  of  population  and  business  find  their  places 
in  the  growing  State.  Time  will  show  whether  the 
sanguine  hopes  of  the  Portland  people  that  their  city 
will  hold  the  virtual  monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the  North- 
west are  well  founded  or  not.  There  can,  in  my  mind, 
be  little  doubt  that  she  will  have  a  very  formidable  rival 
in  the  city  on  Puget  Sound  which  will  spring  up,  as  by 
magic,  when  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  there  re- 
ceives and  discharges  passengers  and  freight.  It  will  be 
an  evil  day  for  Portland  when  the  wharves  at  Tacoma 
find  the  grain-ships  alongside,  and  the  cars  pouring  in 
the  grain  of  Eastern  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory. 
And  some  little  effect  on  her  tolls  will  be  produced 
when  Yaquina  Bay  is  opened,  and  the  cars  of  the  Ore- 
gon Pacific  are  there  delivering  the  freight  of  Middle 
and  Southern  Oregon. 

Portlanders  rely  on  what  they  call  the  concentration 
of  capital  to  pull  them  through.  They  have  yet  to 
learn  the  sensitiveness  of  the  movements  of  their  divin- 
ity— how  prone  she  is  to  follow  the  current  of  trade  to 
its  points  of  receipt  and  delivery.  And  should  that 
day  ever  dawn,  when  figures  show  her  "  supremacy  "  to 
have  departed,  not  one  single  sigh  will  escape  these  val- 
ley counties,  which  Portland  has  levied  tribute  on,  and 
done  her  best  to  keep  in  bondage  till  the  end  of  time. 

Passing  eastward  from  Portland  up  the  Columbia, 
in  one  of  the  large  and  comfortable  boats  of  the  Oregon 
Eailway  and  Navigation  Company,  a  day's  journey  brings 
you  to  the  Dalles.  I  have  already  mentioned  how  rap- 


264  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

idly  this  town  is  growing,  as  the  point  of  distribution 
for  the  greater  portion  of  Northeastern  Oregon,  and  the 
point  of  reception  for  vast  quantities  of  grain,  wool, 
hides,  and  other  productions  of  that  pastoral  and  agri- 
cultural country. 

Taking  a  Willamette  Eiver  boat,  notice  in  passing 
the  Oswego  Iron-Works,  seven  miles  from  Portland, 
and  then  the  village  of  Milwaukee,  with  large  and  well- 
appointed  nurseries,  whence  many  of  the  orchards  of 
the  State  have  been  supplied. 

The  steamer  will  then  stop  at  the  wharf  of  Oregon 
City,  just  below  the  great  falls  of  the  Willamette.  No- 
tice the  magnificent  river  throwing  itself  over  the  rocky 
ridge  which  shows  one  or  two  black  points  of  rock  amid 
the  foam  of  the  falls.  See  the  lofty  hills  on  either  side, 
clad  with  vegetation  to  their  very  tops,  while  the  little 
town  is  crowded  on  the  narrow  strip  down  by  the  river 
on  the  eastern  side.  What  a  water-power  is  yet  running 
to  waste,  though  lumber-mills,  flour-mills,  and  woolen- 
mills  take  their  tribute  as  it  passes  ! 

On  the  west  side  are  the  locks.  Here  the  steamer 
crosses  the  river  from  the  city,  and  you  get  a  pretty 
view  of  this,  one  of  the  earliest  settled  towns  in  the 
State.  It  dates  from  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  rule, 
and  the  oldest  inhabitant  can  tell  you  story  after  story  of 
the  early  days,  when  the  meetings  were  held  here  which 
virtually  determined  the  allegiance  of  the  infant  State. 

Iron-ore  has  been  prospected  in  plenty  in  these  hills 
above  the  town,  but  waits  for  development. 

Passing  up  the  river,  the  next  important  place  we 
meet  is  Salem,  the  capital  of  the  State.  The  State 
Capitol  stands  on  elevated  ground  about  a  mile  back 
from  the  river,  with  a  large,  green  space  in  front, 


SALEM.  265 

planted  with  ornamental  trees  and  shrubs.  The  scene 
from  the  great  windows  at  the  back  is  really  grand, 
Mount  Jefferson  being  in  full  view,  and  the  line  of 
the  Cascades  in  ridge  after  ridge  displayed  in  all  their 
beauty.  Fronting  the  Capitol  buildings  at  the  other 
side  of  the  Park  are  the  Court-House  and  offices  of 
Marion  County,  also  a  substantial  and  handsome  pile. 
On  the  southern  side  of  the  Capitol  stand  the  build- 
ings of  the  Willamette  University. 

The  town  of  Salem  is  now  growing.  It  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  a  splendid  water-power,  called  Mill  Creek, 
which  is  turned  to  good  account  before  it  reaches  the 
Willamette  just  below  the  city.  On  it  are  placed  the 
Pioneer  Oil-Mills,  where  linseed-oil  and  linseed-cake  are 
produced,  of  excellent  quality  and  moderate  price  ;  also 
a  large  building  now  used  both  as  an  implement-factory 
and  as  a  flour-mill ;  this  has  lately  changed  hands,  and 
it  is  too  soon  yet  to  speak  of  its  success.  Below  this  are 
placed  the  "  Salem  Flour- Mills  "  of  Kinney  Brothers  & 
Co.  Their  brand  is  recognized  and  approved  in  all  the 
markets  of  the  world — as  it  ought  to  be,  if  the  best  of 
wheat  turned  into  the  best  of  flour,  and  its  sale  honestly 
and  intelligently  carried  out,  can  command  success. 
The  mills  are  fine  buildings,  fitted  with  the  most  mod- 
ern and  powerful  machinery,  and  stand  just  on  the 
edge  of  the  Willamette,  with  a  dock  where  the  river- 
steamers  can  deliver  wheat  and  receive  flour.  I  believe 
that  this  last  fall  of  1881  they  converted  600,000  bushels 
of  wheat  into  flour.  A  switch  from  the  Oregon  and 
California  Railroad  runs  from  the  main  line  to  the  mills 
on  the  other  side,  and  is  proving  an  immense  conven- 
ience to  the  city  generally  as  well  as  to  the  mills. 

The  steamboat  pauses  on  its  upward  journey  at 


266  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Buena  Vista,  to  take  in  and  deliver  freight  for  the  pot- 
tery there,  already  extensive,  and  which  by  the  excel- 
lence of  its  productions  demonstrates  that  it  only  needs 
further  capital  and  enlarged  business  relations  to  do  an 
important  share  of  the  trade  of  the  coast.  The  glaze 
on  the  ware  is  yery  good,  made  from  a  mineral  earth 
found  in  the  bank  of  the  Willamette  at  Corvallis. 

After  passing  the  mouth  of  the  Santiam,  the  most 
considerable  tributary  of  the  Willamette,  we  stop  at  Al- 
bany. This  is  one  of  the  best  situated  and  most  progres- 
sive towns  in  the  State.  Although  with  a  little  less 
than  two  thousand  inhabitants  at  present,  it  has  all  the 
enterprise  and  "go"  of  a  town  in  Europe  of  five  times 
that  number.  There  are  here  also  three  large  flour- 
mills,  the  brands  of  some  of  which  are  known  and  prized 
in  Liverpool,  to  which  port  cargoes  are  frequently  sent. 

Albany  has  a  lumber-mill,  foundry,  twine-mill,  and 
scutching-mill,  fruit-drying  works,  sash  and  door  fac- 
tory, and  soon  will  have  woolen-mills  also.  The  mak- 
ing of  the  place  is  the  water-power  of  the  Santiam 
River,  brought  in  a  canal  for  thirteen  miles  through 
the  level  prairie-land,  but  rushing  through  the  town 
and  supplying  the  mills  and  factories  with  a  flow  and 
force  of  water  sufficient  for  double  as  many  works  as 
at  present  use  it.  The  town  is  supplied  with  water 
for  domestic  purposes  from  the  same  source,  of  clear- 
ness and  purity  that  it  is  hard  to  equal. 

Albany  has  three  newspapers,  six  churches,  a  very 
good  collegiate  school,  and  excellent  common  schools. 
It  is  a  principal  station  on  the  Oregon  and  Califor- 
nia Bailroad,  and  also  an  important  station  on  the 
Oregon  Pacific,  now  so  rapidly  building,  and  its  point 
of  crossing  the  Oregon  and  California,  and  a  junction 


CORVALLIS  AND  EUGENE  CITY.          267 

for  the  branch  line  to  Lebanon,  away  there  under  the 
slopes  of  the  Cascades.  Land  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  town,  and  indeed  throughout  the  level  portions  of 
Linn  County,  ranging  over  an  area  of  nearly  twenty 
miles  each  way,  is  worth  from  twenty-five  to  sixty  dol- 
lars an  acre — the  last  sale  I  heard  of,  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-two  acres,  about  five  miles  from  the  town, 
being  at  thirty-nine  dollars  an  acre. 

The  next  town  we  come  to  is  our  own  Corvallis,  ap- 
propriately named  as  the  heart  of  the  valley.  It  is  in- 
deed fitly  placed  as  the  valley  starting-point  seaward 
of  the  Oregon  Pacific  Kail  road,  being  on  the  direct 
line  east  and  west  between  Yaquina  Bay,  the  Mount 
Jefferson  Pass  through  the  Cascades,  Prineville,  in 
Eastern  Oregon,  Harney  Lake  and  Valley,  the  Mal- 
heur  Kiver  and  Valley,  and  Boise  City — the  meeting- 
place  in  the  near  future  of  divers  transcontinental  lines. 

Corvallis  has  been  too  fully  described  in  these  pages 
to  need  further  reference  here.  The  commencement  of 
energetic  construction  of  the  Oregon  Pacific  and  the  as- 
surance of  its  early  completion  have  given  an  increased 
business-life  to  the  place  which  impresses  the  visitor 
strongly  with  the  idea  of  rapid  future  growth. 

Continuing  in  our  steamboat  to  the  head  of  the 
Willamette  navigation,  we  pass  the  little  towns  of  Pe- 
oria  and  Harrisburg,  and  at  last  reach  Eugene  City. 
This,  which  is  the  chief  town  of  Lane  County,  is 
blessed  with  a  university,  presided  over  by  excellent 
professors,  one  of  whom,  Professor  Condon,  has  a  name 
and  fame  as  a  geologist  far  beyond  the  limits  of  his 
county  and  also  of  the  State.  I  trust  the  time  will 
soon  come  when  the  liberality  of  the  Legislature  of  Ore- 
gon will  provide  the  funds  necessary  to  enable  Pro- 


268  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

fessor  Condon  to  complete  and  publish  the  systematic 
geology  and  mineralogy  of  Oregon,  the  materials  for 
which  are  already  to  a  large  extent  in  his  possession, 
the  result  of  years  of  careful  study  and  journeyings 
over  the  State. 

Eugene  City  is  a  lively,  pleasant  little  town,  but  has 
not  yet  attained  any  manufacturing  or  industrial  devel- 
opment like  some  of  the  other  towns  in  Oregon.  This 
is  to  come. 

Leaving  the  river  for  the  railroad,  we  journey  up 
to  Eoseburg,  the  capital  of  Douglas  County,  and  the 
southern  terminus  of  the  Oregon  and  California  line. 
No  town  can  be  more  prettily  placed,  really  at  the  head 
of  the  great  valley  country,  with  the  vast  mountain- 
forms  behind  frowning  on  the  traveler  who  dares  at- 
tempt to  thread  their  passes.  As  I  have  said,  the  Doug- 
las County  people  trust  to  get  a  railroad  outlet  from 
Eoseburg  down  to  Coos.  I  hope  they  will  succeed,  and 
so  open  to  ocean-transit  the  productions  of  a  vast  and 
fertile  country. 

Turning  north  again  as  far  as  Corvallis,  we  may 
there  take  the  West-side  Eailroad  and  journey  along  the 
western  side  of  the  Willamette  Valley  and  Eiver. 

The  towns  of  Independence,  Dallas,  Sheridan,  Am- 
ity, Lafayette,  McMinnville,  Forest  Grove,  and  Hills- 
boro'  lie  in  the  district  between  Corvallis  and  Portland. 
Each  and  all  are  thriving,  but  I  can  do  no  more  than 
mention  them,  though  I  fear  so  short  a  reference  will 
be  considered  scant  courtesy  to  the  active,  pushing 
people  who  are  laboring  with  such  success  at  the  devel- 
opment of  Polk,  Yam  Hill,  and  Washington  Counties. 
The  land  is  almost  uniformly  good  ;  large  quantities  are 
being  yearly  grubbed  and  put  under  the  plow,  and  sev- 


COUNTIES:  POPULATION,   ETC. 


269 


eral  of  my  recently  arrived  English  friends  prefer  the 
undulating  land  and  gentle  slopes  of  this  side  of  the  val- 
ley to  any  other  part  of  Oregon,  and  have  proved  their 
preference  by  their  actions.  Land  in  these  counties 
varies  from  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  an  acre  in  price. 

I  think  I  will  close  this  somewhat  tedious  chapter 
by  setting  out  the  counties  of  Oregon,  their  population, 
and  the  statement  of  their  taxable  property,  furnished 
by  the  Secretary  of  State  : 


COUNTIES. 

Population. 

Taxable  property 
of  1880. 

Baker.    .  .    . 

4,615 

$931,139 

Benton  

6,403 

1,766,282 

Clackarnas   .  .  . 

9,260 

1,886,916 

Clatsop 

7  222 

1,136,099 

Columbia.  . 

2,042 

305,283 

Coos  

4,834 

832,335 

Curry 

1  208 

219  333 

Douglas  

9,596 

2,248,985 

Grant  

4,303 

1,088,097 

Jackson   

8,154 

1,449,623 

Josephine              

2,485 

253,594 

Lake                      

2,804 

708,517 

Lane                         

9,411 

3,078,756 

Linn 

12,675 

4  334,479 

Marion                           .          .  . 

14,576 

3,983,170 

Multnomah  .  .                

25,204 

11,511,058 

Polk  

6,601 

1,751,211 

Tillamook 

970 

92,912 

9,607 

2,094,723 

Union  

6,650 

1,265,603 

Wasco    .                 

11,120 

2,870,645 

Washington                           .  . 

7,082 

2,137,630 

Yam  Hill               

7,945 

2,547,833 

Total  of  the  State  

174,767 

$48,494,223 

2,071,406 

The  proportion  of  taxable  property  held   by  each 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  Oregon  is  therefore  $277.47. 


270  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

The  population  of  the  valley  counties,  properly  so 
called,  is  83,549 — this  leaves  Portland  and  Multnomah 
County  entirely  out.  The  taxable  property  of  these 
valley  counties  is  $23,735,262. 

The  population  of  the  whole  of  Eastern  Oregon  east 
of  the  Cascades  is  but  39,099.  The  value  of  its  taxable 
property  is  only  $8,958,724. 

The  population  of  that  part  of  Eastern  and  North- 
eastern Oregon  which  is  in  any  sense  tributary  to  the 
Columbia  or  Snake  Rivers  is  28,180.  The  value  of 
their  taxable  property  is  $6,256,547. 

The  average  taxable  property  of  the  population  of 
the  valley  counties  is  $282. 68 ;  that  of  the  population 
of  Eastern  Oregon,  $228.96. 

These  figures  will  be  seen  to  have  an  important  bear- 
ing on  the  subject  of  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  transportation  question— Its  importance— Present  legal  position- 
Oregon  Kail  way  and  Navigation  Committee's  general  report — That 
company — Its  ocean-going  steamers — Their  traffic  and  earnings — Its 
river- boats— Their  traffic  and  earnings — Its  railroads  in  existence — 
Their  traffic  and  earnings — Its  new  railroads  in  construction  and  in 
prospect — Their  probable  influence — The  Northern  Pacific — Terminus 
on  Puget  Sound — Its  prospects — The  East  and  West  Side  Railroads 
—"Bearing"  traffic  and  earnings— How  to  get  "  control  "—Lands 
owned  by  the  Oregon  Eailway  and  Navigation  Company— Monopoly 
— How  threatened — The  narrow-gauge  railroads — Their  terminus  and 
working — Efforts  to  consolidate  monopoly — The  "  blind  pool" — Ee- 
sistance — The  Oregon  Pacific — Its  causes,  possessions,  and  prospects 
— Land  grant  and  its  enemies — The  traffic  of  the  valley — Yaquina 
Bay — Its  improvement — The  farmers  take  it  in  hand — Contrast  and 
comparisons— The  two  presidents— Probable  effects  of  competition- 
Tactics  in  opposition — The  Yaquina  improvements — Description  of 
works — The  prospects  for  competition  and  the  farmers'  gains. 

FEOM  all  that  has  gone  before,  the  deduction  is  plain 
that  on  the  solution  of  the  transportation  question  in 
the  interests  of  the  fixed  and  industrious  population  of 
the  State  depends  absolutely  the  growth  and  prosperity 
of  Oregon.  Nature  has  done  her  part. 

The  words  of  Messrs.  George  M.  Pullman,  of  Chi- 
cago, and  William  Endicott,  Jr.,  of  Boston,  in  their 
report  of  August  1,  1880,  to  the  stockholders  of  the 
Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company,  will  be  echoed 
by  every  man  who  is  now  or  has  been  in  Oregon  with 
eyes  to  see.  They  wrote  as  follows  : 


272  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

"  Our  observations  afforded,  in  the  first  place,  ample 
confirmation  of  all  we  had  previously  heard  and  read 
of  the  propitious  climate,  great  attractions  of  scenery, 
and  wonderful  agricultural  resources  of  Western  and 
Eastern  Oregon,  and  Eastern  Washington  Territory. 
We  believe  that  in  these  respects  those  regions  are  not 
surpassed,  if  equaled,  by  any  other  portion  of  the  United 
States.  It  can,  indeed,  be  safely  said  that  nowhere  else 
in  this  country  do  rich  soil  and  mild  climate  combine 
to  the  same  degree  in  insuring  such  extraordinary  re- 
sults of  almost  every  agricultural  pursuit  as  regards  quan- 
tity, quality,  and  regularity  of  yield.  .  .  .  The  striking 
evidence  of  past  and  present  growth  which  we  found 
everywhere,  forced  at  the  same  time  the  irresistible  con- 
clusion upon  us  that  we  were  beholding  but  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sure  and  rapid  progress  in  population,  pro- 
ductiveness, and  prosperity  which  will  be  witnessed  in 
the  immediate  future  within  the  vast  stretch  of  country 
watered  by  the  great  river  Columbia  and  its  numerous 
tributaries. " 

The  reader  of  this  book  will,  I  think,  admit  that 
the  facts  herein  detailed  go  far  to  justify  the  conclusions 
summed  up  in  these  few  but  carefully  chosen  words. 

How  does  this  transportation  question  now  stand, 
and  what  (if  any)  matters  are  in  progress  or  contempla- 
tion to  affect  it  ? 

In  the  first  place,  the  companies  are  all  free  to  man- 
age their  own  business  in  their  own  way ;  they  charge 
what  they  like,  favor  what  persons  and  places  they 
choose,  and  load  on  others  burdens  heavy  to  be  borne. 

I  have  before  indicated  what  was  the  purpose  of  the 
bill  introduced  in  the  Legislature  of  1880,  to  prevent 
discrimination  by  common  carriers.  "  The  Oregonian  " 


OREGON  RAILWAY  AND  NAVIGATION  CO.  273 

commented  on  the  loss  of  the  measure  in  these  terms  : 
"We  present  to-day  the  report  of  the  (hostile)  Senate 
committee  on  this  bill.  The  report  shows  why  the  pro- 
posed measure  was  both  an  unjust  and  an  impracticable 
one.  It  should  be  apparent  to  every  one  that  railways 
never  can  be  operated  in  this  way.  The  confusion  and 
disorder  would  be  endless  ;  besides,  every  railroad  which 
is  undertaken  and  constructed  as  an  actual  business 
enterprise  is  entitled  to  make  fair  earnings.  Instead  of 
being  annoyed  by  straw  railroads  got  up  for  specula- 
tive purposes,  it  ought  to  have  protection  from  such 
annoyance." 

In  further  illustration  of  the  working  of  the  present 
system,  I  would  instance  the  fact  that  from  Corvallis  to 
Portland  for  about  a  year  the  freight  on  wheat  by  the 
river  steamboats  of  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation 
Company  has  been  one  dollar  a  ton,  and  of  this  fifty 
cents  had  to  be  paid  for  passing  the  locks  at  Oregon 
City ;  the  rate  immediately  previous  to  this  was  three 
dollars  and  a  half.  This  ridiculously  low  rate  was  put 
on  in  order  to  destroy  the  traffic  of  the  East  and  West 
Side  Railroads,  and  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the  rate 
from  Corvallis  to  Junction  City,  some  twenty  miles  up 
the  river,  where  no  such  reasons  existed,  and  which 
stood  through  this  period  at  about  tenfold  the  one- 
dollar  rate. 

No  sooner  did  the  President  of  the  Oregon  Railway 
and  Navigation  Company  think  he  had  secured  "  con- 
trol "  of  the  two  railroads,  than  steps  were  prepared  to 
quadruple  the  previous  rate.  The  question  of  "con- 
trol "  stood  adjourned,  and  the  one-dollar  rate  was  con- 
firmed. But,  having  seen  reason  to  think  his  acqui- 
sition secure,  the  rates  from  Portland  to  Corvallis 


274  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

(ninety-seven  miles  by  railroad),  both  by  railroads  and 
steamboats,  have  just  now  (April,  1881)  been  raised  to 
six  dollars  per  ton — a  rate  equal  to  that  charged  in  the 
infancy  of  the  business,  twenty  years  ago. 

The  lion's  share  of  the  carrying  business  of  the 
State  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navi- 
gation Company,  and  with  them  are  closely  identified 
the  hopes  of  the  city  of  Portland.  This  company 
owns  two  of  the  steamers  plying  between  Portland  and 
San  Francisco — the  Oregon  and  the  Columbia.  With 
these  two  steamers,  or  with  the  George  W.  Elder  as 
the  predecessor  of  the  Columbia,  they  carried  from  the 
1st  of  July,  1879,  to  the  30th  of  June,  1880,  17,333 
passengers,  and  101,661  tons  of  freight.  The  gross 
receipts  were  $636,888  ;  the  net  profits,  $286,459.  As 
we  know  from  the  published  circular  of  Mr.  Villard, 
the  president,  that  the  cost  of  the  Columbia  was 
$400,000,  and  the  Oregon  is  a  smaller  and  decidedly  less 
expensive  ship,  the  proportion  of  net  earnings  of  the 
vessels  in  question  to  their  total  cost  will  be  seen  to  be 
about  enough  to  pay  ten  per  cent,  per  annum  on  their 
cost,  and  to  buy  the  vessels  out  and  out  in  three  years 
and  a  half.  The  fare  from  Portland  to  San  Francisco, 
even  while  these  earnings  were  being  made,  stood  at 
twenty  dollars  the  first-class  passenger.  News  has  just 
arrived  that  these  fares  are  to  be  raised  to  thirty  dollars 
a  head.  If  the  same  rate  of  expense  is  maintained  as 
during  last  year,  the  earnings  at  the  higher  figure  now 
put  on  will  be  increased  by  about  $100,000,  and  enough 
will  be  realized  to  pay  for  the  fleet  in  about  two  years 
and  a  half. 

With  twenty-five  steamboats  (stern-wheelers)  navi- 
gating the  Columbia  and  Willamette  Rivers,  and  twelve 


RAILROAD  ALONG   THE  COLUMBIA.        275 

barges  and  two  scows  (several  of  the  boats  being  old, 
and  laid  up  in  ordinary  much  of  the  time,  reducing 
thus  materially  the  fleet  in  real  service),  the  company 
earned  $1,992,836  gross,  and  $1,101,766  net  profit.  If 
$50,000  is  deducted  for  the  earnings  of  the  barges,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  average  net  earnings  of  the  twenty- 
five  river-steamers  are  positively  $44,070  each.  The 
fleet  could  be  replaced  for  less  than  the  sum  of  the  net 
profit  of  one  year.  Like  Oliver,  "asking  for  more," 
they  are  positively  raising  these  freights  also  ! 

The  railroad  possessions  of  the  company  for  the 
year  in  question  consisted  of  but  forty-eight  miles,  and 
of  these  the  line  from  Walla  Walla  to  Wallula  on  the 
upper  Columbia,  a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles,  was 
the  longest ;  the  other  two  being  short  strips  of  portage 
railroad  round  the  Cascades  or  rapids  on  the  Columbia. 
The  passengers  carried  were  12,588  ;  the  tons  of  freight, 
72,149  ;  and  the  net  profits,  $269,004,  or  $5,604  a  mile. 

The  company  is  engaged  in  constructing  a  line  of 
railroad  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Columbia  ;  the  por- 
tion from  Celilo  (the  upper  end  of  the  rapids,  at  the 
lower  end  of  which  the  town  of  the  Dalles  is  situated) 
to  Wallula,  just  over  the  Washington  Territory  border, 
a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles,  is  just 
completed.  The  line  is  being  extended  to  the  city  of 
Portland,  the  works  between  the  Dalles  and  the  west- 
ern end  of  the  pass  through  the  Cascade  Mountains 
being  of  the  most  severe  and  expensive  character.  At 
least  two  tunnels  and  mile  after  mile  of  blasting  and 
cutting  through  solid  rock,  where  the  mountains  tower 
perpendicular  above,  would  inspire  dismay  in  the  soul 
of  any  ordinary  railroad -man. 

But  the  word  has  gone  forth  that  the  road  has  to 


276  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

follow  what  is  facetiously  called  the  pass  of  the  Colum- 
bia through  the  Cascades,  and  doubtless  it  will  be  done. 
Several  thousand  Chinamen  are  at  work ;  steam-drills 
are  busy  perforating  the  rocks  ;  scows  have  to  be  moored 
alongside  in  the  river  (there  not  being  even  room  for 
the  track  between  mountain  and  water),  while  the  per- 
pendicular faces  of  the  cliffs  are  being  tormented  and 
torn.  And  thus  about  seventy  miles  of  construction  of 
this  nature  have  to  be  got  through.  When  completed, 
of  course,  the  result  will  be  at  once  to  transfer  nearly 
all  of  as  many  of  the  117,000  passengers  as  traveled  in 
the  company's  boats  on  the  Columbia,  to  the  cars  ;  and 
a  vast  quantity  of  the  freight  must  follow  the  same 
route. 

But  another  factor  is  intended  shortly  to  come  into 
play.  The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  is  vigorously  at 
work,  and  in  a  year  or  two  will  compete  with  the  Ore- 
gon Railway  and  Navigation  Company  for  the  Wash- 
ington Territory  and  extreme  Eastern  Oregon  trade. 
The  passengers  and  freight  intrusted  to  the  Northern 
Pacific  line  will  be  carried  from  Wallula,  the  Columbia 
River  point  above  referred  to,  to  Tacoma,  on  Puget 
Sound.  By  this  route  a  saving  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty-one  miles  in  actual  distance  will  be  effected,  and 
the  traffic  will  reach  the  deep  and  still  waters  of  Puget 
Sound,  far  away  from  the  troubles  and  stickings  of  the 
Willamette  and  Columbia  mouths,  and  the  delays,  dan- 
gers, and  expenses  of  the  Columbia  bar.  It  is  true 
that  before  this  result  is  gained  the  line  must  cross 
the  Cascade  Mountains,  but  it  is  well  known  that  a 
pass  at  less  than  thirty-four  hundred  feet  exists,  and 
the  engineers  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  this  piece 
of  road  will  keep  pace  with  the  rest  to  the  port. 


HOW  TO    GET  "  CONTROL."  277 

Mark  now  another  feature  in  the  case.  The  East 
and  West  Side  Eailroads  on  either  side  of  the  Willa- 
mette Kiver  compete  with  the  boats  of  the  Oregon 
Railway  and  Navigation  Company  for  the  trade  of  the 
Willamette  Valley.  The  railroads  naturally  divert  the 
passenger  traffic  almost  entirely,  and  carry  a  large  quan- 
tity of  freight.  They  would  carry  more  and  earn  a  fair 
profit  for  their  owners,  the  German  and  English  bond- 
holders, but,  instead  of  a  fair  competition,  the  Oregon 
Eailway  and  Navigation  Company,  as  I  have  said,  put 
down  the  freights  from  Corvallis  downward  to  Portland 
on  grain  to  one  dollar  per  ton — of  course,  an  impossible 
rate  for  either  river  or  railroad  to  profit  by. 

Why  is  this  ?  Because  what  Mr.  Villard  calls  the 
"control"  of  these  railroads  is  vitally  necessary  to  the 
future  continuance  of  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navi- 
gation Company's  stocks  in  their  exalted  dividends  and 
consequent  enormous  market  value.  Therefore,  it  is 
sought  now  to  destroy  the  earning  powers  of  these  rail- 
roads, to  force  the  owners  into  succumbing  to  the  "pol- 
icy of  control. " 

One  more  step.  The  Oregon  Railway  and  Naviga- 
tion Company  owns  practically  no  land — that  is  to  say, 
it  is  interested  speculatively  in  the  rise  of  value  in  prop- 
erty in  Portland  by  having  invested  a  large  sum  (I  be- 
lieve $199,000)  in  the  purchase  of  484  acres  of  land  in 
and  near  the  city.  But,  outside  this  and  its  railroad- 
track,  the  company  owns  altogether  about  3,055  acres 
of  land  in  scattered  pieces,  only  about  850  acres  of  which 
lie  in  Oregon  ;  the  rest  in  Washington  Territory,  and  a 
bit  or  two  in  Idaho.  We  will  not  omit  to  mention  its 
wharves  at  the  various  stopping-places  of  the  boats,  as 
they  represent  the  expenditure  of  a  considerable  sum. 


278  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Once  again  :  if  anything  at  all  is  clear,  it  is  that  the  in- 
flated value  of  this  company's  securities  depends  solely 
on  the  continuance  of  their  monopoly.  I  have  shown 
that  on  the  Columbia  Kiver  this  is  threatened  by  the 
Northern  Pacific,  and  also  by  themselves  in  effect,  by  the 
substitution  of  the  costly  railroad  line  for  the  inexpensive 
boats,  and  the  consequent  devotion  of  both  investments, 
namely,  that  in  the  boats  and  that  in  the  railroad,  to 
the  same  traffic,  which  the  competition  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  is  certain  to  reduce  in  gross  volume. 

Now  turn  to  the  "Willamette  Valley  traffic,  and  scru- 
tinize the  position  there.  Not  only  is  there  the  ex- 
isting competition  of  the  railroads,  which  is  fatal,  so 
long  as  it  is  genuine,  to  the  earning  of  large  profits 
from  the  north  and  south  traffic  of  the  valley,  both  in 
passengers  and  goods,  but  here  come  in  two  competi- 
tors more. 

The  Scotch  narrow-gauge  system  also  centers  every- 
thing in  Portland,  and  has  succeeded,  after  a  hard  fight 
with  the  city  authorities,  in  securing  a  large  tract  of 
land  for  depot  or  terminal  purposes.  It  had  the  au- 
dacity to  claim  a  right  of  way  right  through  the  tract 
purchased  by  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Com- 
pany, and,  under  the  law  of  eminent  domain  as  it  ex- 
ists in  Oregon,  it  would  have  got  it,  ay,  and  used  it, 
too,  with  but  scant  regard  for  the  feelings  of  the  high 
and  mighty  corporation  which  had  marked  it  for  their 
own.  But  a  working  arrangement  was  with  much  dif- 
ficulty made,  by  which  the  Scotch  line  runs,  free  of 
charge,  alongside  the  other,  right  through  its  land,  to 
the  terminus  of  the  narrow-gauge. 

This  Scotch  line  has  put  boats  on  the  Willamette 
also.  They  ply  between  Ray's  Landing,  about  seven- 


TEE  "BLIND  POOL."  279 

teen  miles  up  the  Willamette,  and  Portland.  The 
narrow-gauge  also  has  an  East-side  and  a  West-side  line 
through  the  Willamette  Valley.  The  East-side  line 
runs  north  and  south  a  short  distance  from  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Cascades,  and  has  now  got  as  far  as  Browns- 
ville, about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  Port- 
land. Their  West-side  line  runs  through  the  rich 
farming  country  in  Polk  County  by  Dallas  to  Sheridan, 
and  a  junction  with  the  Western  Oregon  broad-gauge 
near  by.  This  is  also  an  ambitious  company,  who  are 
pushing  surveys  across  the  Cascade  Eange. 

The  narrow-gauge  system  is  yet  by  no  means  com- 
plete, but,  when  it  is,  it  will  become  at  once  a  very  dan- 
gerous rival  both  to  the  East  and  West  Side  roads,  and 
also  to  the  boats  of  the  Oregon  Eailway  and  Navigation 
Company  on  the  Willamette. 

So  seriously  did  Mr.  Villard  feel  the  impending  dan- 
ger that  it  is  no  secret  in  Oregon  that  a  confidential 
agent  was  dispatched  by  him  to  Scotland,  to  endeavor 
to  put  the  Scotch  investors  out  of  conceit  with  their 
property,  and,  failing  that,  he  attempted  to  secure  some 
of  their  stock,  so  as  to  gain  a  footing  inside  their  camp. 
But  there  also  he  failed. 

Shortly  before  these  pages  were  written,  occurred 
the  episode  of  what  is  known  in  financial  circles  in 
America  as  "the  blind  pool."  Mr.  Villard  caused  it  to 
be  known  among  his  circle  of  followers  that  he  desired 
the  use  of  eight  million  dollars.  According  to  state- 
ments made  on  his  authority,  he  not  only  secured  it, 
but  in  all  fifteen  millions  were  offered  him.  Quietly  and 
secretly  he  used  the  eight  millions  in  buying  up  stock  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  in  the  New  York  market, 
nor  did  he  show  his  hand  until  he  had  thus  secured 


280  TWO    TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

twenty-seven  millions  par  value  of  the  stock  of  that  road. 
When  his  great  gun  was  thus  loaded,  he  discharged  it 
full  at  the  head  of  Mr.  Billings,  the  president  of  the 
Northern  Pacific,  and  those  directors  who  had  loyally 
cooperated  with  him  in  the  reorganization  of  the  com- 
pany and  the  redemption  of  its  securities  from  the 
chaos  into  which  they  had  fallen  following  the  Jay 
Cooke  failure.  And  the  invader  boldly  claimed  that  he 
had  secured  the  "control"  of  that  company  too,  and 
proposed  to  oust  the  president,  to  install  a  representa- 
tive of  the  "blind  pool." 

But  an  unexpected  check  was  met.  It  seems  that 
part  of  the  reconstituted  stock  of  the  company,  amount- 
ing to  eighteen  million  dollars,  was  as  yet  in  the  treas- 
ury of  the  company,  but  was  the  property  of  divers 
persons  who  had  cooperated  in  or  assented  to  the  recon- 
struction. This  being  issued,  as  Mr.  Billings  and  his 
friends  claim,  in  fulfillment  of  engagements  long  since 
entered  into,  displaced  the  center  of  gravity,  and  caused 
it  to  incline  heavily  toward  the  Billings  section.  A  vo- 
ciferous outcry  was  of  course  heard  ;  the  courts  were 
appealed  to ;  and  the  result  of  what  promises  to  be  a 
long  and  costly  litigation  remains  to  be  seen. 

Even  without  the  entrance  on  the  field  of  the  new 
forces  I  am  about  to  describe,  the  position  of  the  Ore- 
gon Eailway  and  Navigation  Company  appears  to  be  a 
very  perilous  one. 

Under  the  chieftainship  of  Mr.  Villard,  who  was  no 
novice  at  the  art  of  playing  with  railroad  companies  as 
counters  in  the  game  of  "  beggar-my-neighbor,"  a  vast 
amount  of  Eastern  capital  was  taken  up  by  the  aid  of 
the  enormous  profits  earned  by  the  previously  existing 
Oregon  Steamship  and  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Com- 


YAQUINA  BAT.  281 

pany.  Then  followed  naturally  an  era  of  really  delu- 
sive prosperity,  while  the  expenditure  of  this  capital  in 
substituting  the  new  lamps  of  costly  railroads  for  the 
magical  old  lamps  of  stern-wheel  steamboats  was  going 
on. 

But,  in  order  to  secure  this  capital,  it  was  necessary 
to  publish  to  the  world  the  enormous  profits  the  earlier 
companies  were  making.  The  effects  were  twofold  and 
immediate.  One  was  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  farmers  of 
Oregon  to  the  fact  that  they  were  paying  for  the  trans- 
port to  market  of  their  crops  sums  utterly  dispropor- 
tionate to  the  cost  and  risk  of  the  services  rendered. 
And  thus  it  was  certain  that  ere  long  measures  would 
be  taken  in  the  Legislature  of  Oregon,  similar  in  purport 
to  those  adopted  in  other  States,  to  check  and  curb  the 
power  of  discrimination,  which  was  the  engine  used  to 
force  the  traffic  on  to  the  boats  and  trains  of  the  Ore- 
gon Railway  and  Navigation  Company. .  The  measure 
to  that  end  introduced  in  the  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  1880  was,  it  is  true,  defeated  by  the  strenu- 
ous efforts  of  the  company,  aided  by  their  Portland 
friends.  But  that  success  was  dearly  bought,  and  the 
process  was  so  patent  as  to  awaken  the  farmers,  with 
whom  the  real  power  dwells,  in  a  fashion  that  will  soon 
be  felt. 

The  other  result,  equally  inevitable,  was  to  call  into 
active  life  plans,  long  in  preparation,  for  constructing  an 
east  and  west  line  across  the  State,  relying  on  Yaquina 
Bay  as  the  outport,  and  on  the  trade  of  the  Willamette 
Valley  as  the  mainstay  of  the  road. 

But  the  enterprise  had  other  features  to  recommend 
it.  The  Willamette  Valley  and  Coast  Railroad  Com- 
pany had  been  originated  four  or  five  years  back  by  the 


282  TWO    TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

farmers  of  the  valley  to  construct  a  railroad  between 
Corvallis  and  Yaquina  Bay.  It  had  obtained  a  charter 
from  the  Legislature  giving  it  authority  to  extend  its 
line  across  the  State  to  the  eastern  boundary,  at  a  point 
directly  en  route  to  Boise  City,  Idaho. 

This  had  been  long  ago  marked  out  as  the  probable 
limit  where  connection  either  with  a  branch  from  the 
Union  Pacific  Eailroad,  or  with  some  other  road  push- 
ing westward  to  the  ocean,  might  be  made. 

The  Willamette  Valley  and  Coast  Eailroad  received 
in  its  charter  from  the  State  immunity  from  taxation 
for  twenty  years,  and  also  a  grant  of  all  the  rich  tide 
and  overflowed  lands  in  Benton  County,  amount- 
ing to  probably  upward  of  one  hundred  thousand 
acres. 

Not  content  with  this,  the  framer  of  this  scheme 
had  obtained  the  right  of  purchase,  on  the  basis  of  value 
of  land  in  Eastern  Oregon  ten  years  ago,  of  the  grant 
of  lands  in  aid  of  the  construction  of  the  Willamette 
Valley  and  Cascade  Mountains  Military  Wagon-road, 
amounting  to  eight  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres. 
A  sketch  of  the  history  of  this  road  has  been  given 
before  in  these  pages,  and  of  the  character  of  the  coun- 
try through  which  it  runs. 

The  vital  force  of  the  Oregon  Pacific  Company, 
which  was  formed  and  brought  before  the  world  in  the 
autumn  of  1880  to  complete  and  operate  the  Willamette 
Valley  and  Coast  Railroad,  lay  in  the  advantage  of 
position  in  its  central  line,  cutting  Oregon  in  half,  and 
thereby  attracting  traffic  to  it  from  both  sides,  and  also 
in  the  solid  backing  of  about  nine  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  acres  of  land,  stretching  across  the  State 
from  east  to  west,  and  which  was  certain  to  rise  four- 


OREGON  PACIFIC  RAILROAD.  283 

fold  at  least  in  value  by  the  construction  of  the  rail- 
road through  it. 

The  first  hundred  and  thirty  miles  of  the  road  pass 
through  Benton  and  Linn  Counties,  which  together 
produce  about  one  half,  and,  with  the  adjoining  coun- 
ties of  Polk  and  Marion  on  the  north  and  the  county 
of  Lane  on  the  south,  fully  three  quarters  of  the  wheat- 
crop  of  Oregon. 

It  was  estimated  by  a  committee  formed  in  these 
counties,  who  investigated  the  subject  thoroughly,  that 
not  less  than  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  tons  of 
grain,  and  other  freight  to  the  amount  of  fifty  thousand 
tons  or  more,  would  seek  an  outlet  over  this  road,  from 
these  valley  counties,  on  the  basis  of  the  crop  of  1878. 
The  subsequent  increase  in  acreage  under  crops  would 
give  not  less  than  three  hundred  thousand  acres  instead 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  at  a  very  moderate 
estimate.  The  inward  freight  may  be  taken  at  one  half 
of  the  outward  bound,  thus  giving  four  hundred  and 
fourteen  thousand  tons  which  the  new  road  would  be 
called  on  to  transport. 

These  figures  raised  the  ire  of  the  Oregon  Kail  way 
and  Navigation  Company  and  of  some  of  its  Portland 
friends,  and  their  abuse  called  forth  a  reinvestigation  of 
the  whole  subject,  which  resulted  in  thorough  confir- 
mation of  the  estimates. 

The  Oregon  Pacific  proposed,  as  soon  as  open  for 
business,  to  lower  the  seven  dollars  a  ton,  the  previous 
average  charge  of  the  other  company  on  valley  freight 
to  San  Francisco,  to  three  dollars  and  a  half,  and  the 
twenty-four  dollars  for  first-class  passengers  and  four- 
teen dollars  for  emigrant  passengers  to  one  half  of 
those  figures.  And  it  showed  a  very  large  probable 


284  TWO   TEAKS  IN  OREGON. 

dividend  on  its  capital,  on  those  reduced  figures.  The 
reasonableness  of  this  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the 
enormous  earnings  of  the  other  company. 

The  whole  question  turned,  of  course,  on  the  prac- 
ticability of  so  improving  the  entrance  to  Yaquina  Bay 
that  heavy-laden  ships  of  deep  draught  could  enter  to 
deliver  and  receive  cargo. 

The  valley  farmers  and  traders,  to  the  number  of 
thirty-four  hundred,  petitioned  Congress  to  appropriate 
$240,000  for  these  works.  Strenuous  efforts  in  support 
of  this  petition  at  Washington,  in  the  session  of  1880, 
sufficed  to  overcome  the  opposition  of  the  Oregon  Kail- 
way  and  Navigation  Company,  and  the  prayer  was 
granted  in  principle,  but  only  in  extent  to  $40,000,  after 
the  fashion  in  such  cases. 

But  the  careful  surveys  and  investigations  of  the 
United  States  engineers,  which  were  at  once  under- 
taken, justified  the  hopes  of  the  people  and  of  those 
interested  in  the  railroad,  and  very  early  in  1881  the 
works  for  the  improvement  were  begun. 

Application  was  made  to  Congress  in  the  winter 
session  of  1880-'81  to  appropriate  $200,000  more  for 
the  works  ;  but  only  $10,000  were  granted,  although 
the  Legislature  of  Oregon  had,  in  their  session  of  1880, 
by  formal  resolution,  unanimously  supported  the  appli- 
cation for  $200,000. 

But  the  farmers  of  the  valley  counties  were  at  last 
roused  to  vigorous  action,  and,  under  the  presidency  of 
the  Linn  County  Grange  and  its  officers,  are  raising  a 
large  fund  by  subscription,  to  continue  without  inter- 
ruption the  harbor- works  until  additional  appropria- 
tions are  made  by  Congress.  The  subscription  will  not 
only  serve  to  keep  the  harbor-works  in  vigorous  prog- 


PROBABLE  EFFECTS  OF  COMPETITION.     285 

ress,  but  demonstrates  the  subscribers'  conviction  of 
the  success  of  the  efforts  made  for  the  completion  of 
the  Oregon  Pacific  Railroad,  and  their  active  and  per- 
sonal interest  in  such  success. 

And  now  the  full  force  of  the  figures  given  in  the 
last  chapter  is  seen.  So  far  as  the  Oregon  Railway  and 
Navigation  Company  depends  on  Oregon  for  its  sup- 
port, it  must  come  from  counties  the  population  of 
which  is  but  28,180,  and  the  value  of  their  taxable 
property,  in  1880,  only  $6,256,547 ;  the  proportion 
of  property  for  each  inhabitant  being  $228.96,  or 
nearly  twenty  per  cent,  below  the  average  for  the 
State. 

The  Oregon  Pacific  will  draw  its  present  support 
from  the  valley  counties,  with  a  population  of  83,549, 
and  taxable  property  of  $23,735,262,  each  about  four- 
fold greater.  Their  average  property  is  $282.68  per 
head,  or  about  two  per  cent,  above  the  rate  for  the 
whole  State. 

If  it  be  argued  that  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Naviga- 
tion Company  bases  its  hopes  for  maintaining  its  high 
dividends  on  its  enlarged  capital ;  on  the  development 
of  Eastern  Oregon  in  population  and  productions, 
which  is  in  rapid  progress  —  I  reply  that  the  same 
considerations  apply  with  vastly  increased  force  to  the 
district  served  by  the  Oregon  Pacific.  The  latter  relies 
not  only  on  the  fertile  lands  on  the  western  side  of 
the  Cascades,  unequaled  in  the  whole  United  States  for 
attractiveness  to  immigrants  of  the  better  class,  but  it 
also  asserts  its  undoubted  claim  to  profit  from  the  set- 
tlement of  the  broad  stretch  of  country,  also  in  Eastern 
Oregon,  through  which  its  line  runs  in  its  eastward 
course. 


286  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

If  stress  is  laid  on  the  advantage  of  the  established 
position  of  Portland  for  the  headquarters  of  the  one 
road,  the  scale  kicks  the  beam  when  the  one  hundred 
and  ten  miles  of  towage  and  pilotage,  the  probable  de- 
lays in  the  rivers,  the  certain  dangers  and  difficulties  of 
the  Columbia  bar,  are  weighed  against  the  saving  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty-one  miles  in  actual  distance, 
and  the  short  course  of  but  three  miles  from  the  ocean 
to  the  wharves  at  Yaquina. 

If  Mr.  Villard  has  displayed  his  cleverness  in  laying 
hold  of  established  profits  and  turning  them  to  the 
enormous  gain  of  himself  and  of  those  friends  of  his 
who  have  followed  his  lead,  I  can  here  do  but  partial 
justice  to  the  foresight  and  energy  of  Colonel  T.  Egen- 
ton  Hogg,  whose  clear  judgment  realized  the  necessity 
and  the  many  advantages  of  the  Yaquina  route  ten 
years  ago,  who  has  fought  through  unnumbered  diffi- 
culties and  a  bitter  and  envenomed  opposition  toward 
its  attainment,  and  who  has  secured  in  so  doing  the 
hearty  support  of  the  backbone  and  sinew  of  Oregon 
life,  which  trust  to  the  Oregon  Pacific  to  set  free  the 
commerce  of  the  State. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  Oregon  Eailway  and 
Navigation  Company  is  foredoomed  to  failure,  or  to  im- 
mediately explode  and  go  out  like  a  rocket.  According 
to  my  ideas,  it  may  have  a  moderately  prosperous  future, 
bringing  down  to  Portland  a  certain  quantity  of  freight 
and  passengers  from  the  upper  country,  and  an  increas- 
ing quantity  as  that  country  develops.  But  to  suppose 
that  on  its  enlarged  capital  it  will  be  allowed  to  go  on 
earning  dividends  at  the  same  preposterous  rate  as  here- 
tofore its  boats  have  made  for  it,  is  to  insult  the  com- 
mon-sense alike  of  the  Oregon  farmer  and  of  the  capi- 


TACTICS  IN  OPPOSITION.  287 

talist  looking  now  more  eagerly  than  ever  for  profitable 
and  safe  investment. 

One  other  point  deserves  attention.  The  Oregon 
Railway  and  Navigation  Company  owns  practically  no 
land  (except  its  building-land  speculation  in  Portland)  ; 
therefore,  when  these  competing  lines  come  into  play, 
and  traffic  rates  are  consequently  reduced  over  all  the 
State,  its  dividend-producing  power  is  gone. 

The  other  lines  can  follow  it  down  and  down  in  any 
war  of  rates  so  far  as  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Naviga- 
tion lines  see  fit  to  venture.  Such  tactics  would  be 
absolute  madness  in  California,  as  by  its  new  Constitu- 
tion rates  once  lowered  can  not  be  raised  again.  But 
suppose  the  war  of  rates  is  begun  in  Oregon.  The 
Northern  Pacific,  when  completed  according  to  law,  will 
save  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  miles  in  distance,  and 
deliver  freight  and  passengers  at  deep  water  on  Puget 
Sound.  The  narrow-gauge  roads  and  boats  together  can 
carry  more  cheaply  than  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navi- 
gation Company.  The  valley  standard-gauge  railroads 
and  the  Oregon  Pacific  share  with  the  Northern  Pacific 
this  tremendous  advantage,  that  every  dollar  they  lose  on 
transportation  is  only  invested  at  enormous  profit  in  the 
rise  and  value  of  their  lands.  It  is  the  cost  of  trans- 
portation that  keeps  down  value  on  their  lands  ;  lower 
this,  and  land  rises  at  once. 

Nor  is  it  to  be  supposed  for  an  instant  that  the  same 
tactics  by  which  it  has  been  attempted  to  prevent,  ham- 
per, or  delay  the  building  of  the  Oregon  Pacific  Rail- 
road will  long  succeed. 

Shortly  after  the  prospectus  of  that  railroad  was 
issued,  there  appeared  in  "  The  Oregonian,"  of  Port- 
land, three  columns  of  abuse  over  the  signature  of 
13 


288  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

"  Examiner."  The  writer  described  himself  as  a  citizen 
of  Oregon,  anxious  to  avoid  delusion  and  disaster  to  the 
Eastern  public. 

The  whole  was  telegraphed  or  mailed  long  in  advance 
back  to  New  York,  and  appeared  in  a  garbled  and  still 
more  contemptible  form  as  a  circular,  professing  to  be 
reprinted  from  "  The  Oregonian,"  as  if  from  the  editor's 
chair  of  that  paper.  New  York  was  flooded  with  the 
copies.  Fortunately,  it  was  easy  enough  to  repel  the 
attack,  since  the  chief  points  were  that  the  Eastern  Ore- 
gon lands  were  worthless,  and  the  statements  of  the  Wil- 
lamette Valley  trade  exaggerated.  And  on  both  points 
ample,  even  overwhelming,  evidence  was  at  hand. 

Then,  by  what  hidden  influences  it  is  of  course 
impossible  to  say,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Mr. 
Schurz,  was  set  in  motion  on  the  allegation  that  the 
Cascade  Mountains  road  had  never  been  made,  and 
that  consequently  the  United  States  had  been  imposed 
upon  fourteen  years  ago  when  Congress  granted  the 
lands  to  the  State  of  Oregon,  and  that  State  defrauded 
in  turn  ten  years  ago  when,  on  certificates  of  due 
completion  satisfactory  to  the  then  officials  of  the 
State,  the  lands  were  duly  confirmed  to  the  wagon- 
road  company. 

Thereupon,  without  inquiry  as  to  the  facts  from  the 
State  officials  of  Oregon,  or  from  the  road  company  or 
their  representatives,  who  had  all  the  evidence  in  their 
possession — without  one  word  of  notice  to  any  of  the 
parties  concerned — a  man  named  Prosser,  then  residing 
at  Seattle,  and  occupied  in  repressing  unwarranted  tim- 
ber-cutting on  Government  lands  in  that  neighborhood, 
was  dispatched  to  professedly  examine  into  the  condi- 
tion of  things.  His  journey ;  the  narrative  of  his  du- 


THE  CASCADE  MOUNTAINS  ROAD.        289 

plicity  ;  of  his  inducing  the  president  of  the  road  com- 
pany, in  the  innocence  of  his  heart,  to  fit  him  out  and 
to  lend  him  all  the  money  for  his  expenses  ;  of  his  re- 
turn and  interviews  with  the  citizens  of  Albany  ;  of  his 
subsequent  report  that  no  road  existed  where  upward  of 
five  thousand  wagons  and  innumerable  droves  of  cattle 
and  of  passengers  on  foot  and  horseback  had  passed 
without  accident  for  ten  years  ;  of  his  allegations  of  the 
trivial  cost  of  the  works,  met  by  the  evidence  of  the 
outlay  of  about  $100,000  on  the  construction  and  re- 
pairs of  the  road ;  of  the  storm  of  indignation  which 
swept  through  Linn  County,  and  found  expression 
wherever  the  facts  were  known  —  all  these  things 
form  an  amusing  chapter  in  the  history  of  this  trans- 
action. 

The  Congressional  committee,  to  whom  the  matter 
was  referred,  reported,  as  might  be  expected,  that  Con- 
gress had  no  jurisdiction  ;  that,  so  far  as  they  could  see, 
the  present  owners,  being  innocent  purchasers,  had  good 
title  to  the  lands  ;  and  that,  if  there  were  to  be  any  at- 
tempt made  to  disturb  them,  it  must  be  a  judicial  and 
not  a  legislative  matter. 

Meanwhile  an  action  of  ejectment  had  been  brought 
by  the  purchasers  from  the  road  company  of  the  land 
grant,  in  the  United  States  District  Court  at  Portland, 
against  a  squatter  on  the  land,  whose  letters  of  old  date 
to  the  Commissioner  of  the  Land-Office  had  been  made 
the  pretext  for  the  course  taken  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior.  Every  opportunity  was  given  for  raising  in 
court  the  question  of  no  road  ;  but  the  defendant  dared 
not  accept  the  challenge,  and  Judge  Deady  rendered 
judgment  for  the  owners  of  the  land  grant,  and  so 
settled  the  question  for  good  and  all,  so  far  as  I  can  see. 


290  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

His  judgment  was  masterly  and  exhaustive,  and  I  should 
think  would  convince  any  candid  mind. 

Thus  ends  this  act  in  the  drama,  with  the  position 
of  the  Oregon  Pacific  confirmed  at  every  point,  and  the 
Oregon  Eailway  and  Navigation  Company  with  a  very 
pretty  quarrel  on  their  hands  with  the  Northern  Pa- 
cific, and  an  impending  competition,  at  which  the  farm- 
ers of  the  State  rejoice. 

And  so  the  transportation  question  in  Oregon  is  in 
a  fair  way  to  be  settled  in  a  manner  consonant  with  jus- 
tice and  honesty,  so  that  produce  will  be  charged  only 
what  is  commensurate  in  fair  measure  with  the  cost  and 
risk  of  the  service  rendered,  and  not  in  the  opposite 
direction  of  what  the  producer  can  bear. 

Before  I  close  this  subject,  let  me  describe  very 
shortly  the  principle  and  method  of  the  harbor  improve- 
ment at  Yaquina. 

The  problem  is  this  :  In  the  harbor  is  a  sheet  of 
tidal  water  running  up  more  than  twenty  miles  in- 
land, and  in  the  bay  or  harbor  proper  expanding  into 
a  width  of  about  three  miles.  To  the  tidal  water  has  to 
be  added  that  brought  down  by  the  Yaquina  River  and 
its  tributaries  in  a  course  of  fifty  miles  or  thereabout. 
The  deep-water  channel  to  the  ocean  through  which 
this  inflow  and  outflow  are  repeated  twice  every  twenty- 
four  hours  is  deep  and  narrow,  and  the  current  very 
swift.  Thus,  this  channel  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide 
between  the  headlands  on  either  side  of  the  mouth 
does  not  vary  appreciably  in  width  or  depth,  and  re- 
quires no  attention. 

Just  where  the  mouth  opens  to  the  ocean  is  the  reef, 
of  soft  sandstone  rock,  rising  in  intervals  of  separate 
rocks  to  within  ten  or  eleven  feet  of  low-water  mark— 


TEE  YAQUINA  IMPROVEMENTS.  291 

that  is  to  say,  each  of  the  three  channels  through  the 
reef,  north,  middle,  and  south,  gives  this  depth  of  water. 
But  here  the  water,  which  has  kept  clear  and  deep  the 
channel  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  or  thereabout,  ex- 
pands to  a  width  of  about  two  miles.  Consequently, 
the  current  is  not  sufficiently  strong  in  any  one  of 
the  three  channels  to  prevent  the  piling  of  the  sand 
against  the  rock  outside  and  in,  in  a  gentle  rise  from 
the  forty-feet  depth  outside  to  the  height  of  the  rocky 
reef,  and  similarly  from  the  thirty  feet  inside  the  reef. 

The  engineers  propose,  by  a  jetty  from  the  south 
beach  to  a  group  of  rocks  forming  the  south  side  of  the 
middle  channel,  to  extend  the  narrow  deep  channel 
inside,  and  the  consequent  force  of  concentrated  tidal 
and  river  water,  up  to  the  rocky  reef  itself.  They  judge 
that  the  tidal  force  is  ample  to  scour  away  clean  all  the 
sand  deposited  both  in  and  outside  the  reef.  They 
propose,  then,  to  blast  away  the  rock  itself  from  the 
middle  channel,  which,  as  the  obstruction  is  both  soft 
and  narrow,  will  be  neither  a  difficult  nor  costly  opera- 
tion, and  they  intend  thus  to  open  to  the  commerce  of 
the  world  the  calm  and  deep  waters  of  the  harbor,  which 
will  suffice  to  receive  all  the  fleet  of  vessels  trading  to 
this  coast. 

The  construction  of  the  jetty  is  proceeding  rapidly 
by  means  of  large  mattresses  of  brushwood  sunk  in  the 
destined  position,  loaded  with  rock  and  attracting  and 
retaining  the  sand,  and  covered  in,  when  the  needed 
breadth  and  height  are  gained,  with  larger  rocks  brought 
down  from  a  quarry  of  hard  stone  about  eight  miles  up 
the  harbor. 

No  one  who,  like  the  present  writer,  has  often  tried 
to  stem  the  tidal  current  sweeping  out  to  sea,  can  doubt 


292  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

the  force  and  velocity  it  will  bring  to  bear  ;  and  no  one 
familiar  with.  Yaquina  doubts  the  anticipated  success  of 
the  improvement.  Once  gained,  it  will  be  permanent, 
and  then  half  an  hour  will  suffice  to  tug  the  arriving 
vessel  from  the  deep  waters  of  the  Pacific  to  her  sta- 
tion alongside  her  wharf,  and  the  same  time  will  dis- 
patch her,  fully  loaded,  on  her  voyage. 

To  sum  up  this  matter  :  At  present  a  very  large  por- 
tion of  the  profits  of  farming  and  of  other  industries 
in  Oregon  goes  into  the  pockets  of  the  transportation 
company.  The  rates  of  freight  bear  no  proportion  to 
the  benefits  obtained,  but  are  fixed  simply  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  sitting  down  to  pencil  out  a  list  to  see  how 
much  the  farmers  can  possibly  pay.  If  this  state  of 
things  were  to  be  indefinitely  perpetuated,  the  outlook 
would  be  dreary.  That  a  radical  change  is  impending 
is  to  me  clear.  The  country  is  too  rich  in  productive 
powers,  the  citizens  are  too  fully  awake  to  the  needs  of 
their  position,  the  knowledge  of  what  Oregon  is  and 
what  she  wants  is  too  widely  spread,  and  the  president 
of  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company  has 
trumpeted  forth  the  enormous  profits  of  his  corporation 
too  loudly,  for  the  failure  of  the  efforts  now  in  prog- 
ress to  introduce  competition  in  the  carrying-trade. 
So  that  I,  for  one,  am  at  rest  as  to  the  result.  Oregon 
will  take  her  own  part  in  the  general  movement,  now 
current  throughout  the  United  States,  to  regulate,  if 
not  to  curtail,  the  powers  of  the  corporations. 

But  I  have  confidence  in  the  steady  and  peaceful 
character  of  her  population  not  to  carry  this  matter 
here  to  extremes,  which  might  unduly  burden  associated 
capital,  and  check  the  flow  of  its  full  current  to  our 
State. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Emigration  to  Oregon — Who  should  not  come — Free  advice  and  no  fees 
— English  emigrants — Farmers  —  Haste  to  be  rich  —  Quoted  ex- 
periences— Cost  and  ways  of  coming — Sea-routes — Kailroads — Bag- 
gage— What  not  to  bring — What  not  to  forget — Heavy  property — The 
Custom-house — San  Francisco  hotels — Conclusion. 

THE  question  most  often  asked  and  most  difficult  to 
answer  is,  "  Do  you  advise  me  to  come  out  to  Oregon  ?  " 
It  is  easy  to  say  who  should  not  come.  We  want  no 
waifs  and  strays  of  civilization,  enervated  with  excesses, 
or  depressed  with  failure  ;  men  who  can  find  no  niche 
for  themselves,  who  have  neither  the  habit,  the  disposi- 
tion, nor  the  education  for  work.  We  want  none  of 
those  youngsters  who  have  tried  this,  have  failed  in  that, 
until  their  friends  say  in  disgust,  "Oh,  ship  them  to 
Oregon,  and  let  them  take  their  chances  ! "  We  desire 
no  younger  sons  of  English  or  Eastern  parents  with- 
out energy  or  capital  to  start  them.  High  birth,  aris- 
tocratic connections,  we  value  not  at  all,  unless  they 
carry  with  them  the  sense  of  responsibility  to  honored 
forefathers — the  determination  that  the  stigma  of  fail- 
ure shall  not  stain  a  proud  name.  Nor  do  we  desire 
those  young  men  whose  first  thought  is,  "  How  shall  we 
amuse  ourselves  ? "  and  whose  first  aim  is  the  cricket, 
or  base-ball,  or  lawn-tennis  ground,  and  whose  chief 
luggage  is  bat,  fishing-rod,  and  shot-gun. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  we  do  not  want  those  who, 
having  qualified  themselves,  as  they  suppose,  for  life  in 


TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Oregon  by  six  months  or  a  year  with  some  scientific 
farmer,  consider  that  they  know  eyery thing,  despise 
instruction,  neglect  advice,  are  wiser  than  their  elders, 
and  then  throw  up  in  disgust  as  soon  as  they  find  that 
they  have  sunk  their  money,  that  their  theories  will 
not  work,  and  that  they  must  here  as  elsewhere  begin 
at  the  beginning. 

Nor  do  we  propose  (and  we  are  certain  it  is  in  no 
way  necessary)  to  charge  new-comers  an  initiation  fee 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  or  any  other  sum,  for 
the  privilege  of  joining  our  society  in  Oregon,  and  prof- 
iting by  our  experience. 

And,  as  I  began  by  saying,  the  English  who  have 
come  here  have  established  no  colony,  in  the  usual 
sense,  set  up  no  separate  society,  and  claim  no  common 
corporate  life. 

Society  we  have,  association  we  have,  common 
amusements  and  pursuits  we  have,  but  in  all  these  we 
invite  our  American  neighbors  to  take  their  part,  and 
see  no  reason  to  regret  our  course. 

True  it  is  that  the  costume  of  knickerbockers  and 
gaiters  and  heather-suit  and  pot-hat  is  a  very  common 
object  in  our  town,  and  that  we  meet  in  considerable 
force  at  the  Episcopal  church  on  Sunday  to  join  in  the 
familiar  service.  But  we  adhere  to  our  original  plan 
that  the  newcomer  shall  settle  where  he  pleases  in  these 
counties,  shall  have  the  best  advice  we  can  bestow  in 
the  choice  of  land,  the  purchase  of  stock  and  imple- 
ments, and  of  the  other  necessaries  for  a  farmer's  start 
in  life ;  and  shall  have  this  free  of  charge,  We  offer 
the  right  hand  of  friendship  ;  we  will  do  our  part  to 
keep  up  association  and  kindly  relations  of  all  kinds. 

But  we  are  more  anxious  that  Oregon  should  be 


WHO  SHOULD   COME.  295 

built  up  by  the  gradual  incoming  of  men  of  serious  pur- 
pose, possessed  of  moderate  capital,  who  shall  disperse 
over  the  face  of  the  country  as  they  would  at  home, 
and  strengthen  the  State  by  the  force  of  attraction  each 
will  exercise  over  the  friends  and  acquaintances  he  has 
left  behind,  than  we  are  to  create  here  a  bit  of  inter- 
jected foreign  life. 

Therefore  let  the  farmer,  above  all,  tried  and  wor- 
ried at  home  by  fickle  seasons,  heavy  rent,  burdensome 
tithe  and  taxes,  labor-troubles,  low  prices,  and  gradually 
fading  capital— let  him  bring  his  wife  and  children  and 
come.  His  few  hundred  pounds  will  make  a  good 
many  dollars,  and  he  will  be  amazed  to  find  himself 
owning  productive  land  for  about  the  sum  he  would 
have  paid  for  two  years'  rent  at  home. 

If  his  means  do  not  permit  him  to  pay  down  the 
whole  purchase  price,  he  is  one  of  the  very  few  who  can 
be  safely  advised  to  begin  to  some  extent  in  debt ;  for, 
remember,  land  in  Oregon  is  expected  to  pay  for  itself 
from  its  own  productions  in  five  years'  time. 

Even  if  the  new-comer  has  had  no  previous  practical 
experience,  that  need  not  of  itself  deter  him.  One  of 
our  best  farmers  told  me  the  other  day  that  when  he 
began  he  did  not  know  which  end  of  a  plow  went  first  ! 
But  in  such  case  the  wisest  thing  is  either  to  hire  him- 
self out  to  work  for  an  Oregonian  farmer  for,  at  any 
rate,  a  few  months,  or,  if  he  takes  an  opportunity  of 
buying  land  for  himself,  let  him  reverse  the  operation 
and  hire  an  Oregonian  to  work  for  him  for  a  time. 

I  read  a  short  article  in  the  "Portland  Evening 
Telegram,"  the  other  day,  which  seemed  to  me  very 
much  in  point ;  so  I  shall  quote  it : 

"Seven  years  ago  two  men,  dissatisfied  with  the 


296  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

sluggishness  with  which  their  fortunes  grew  in  Port- 
land, determined  to  better  their  condition. 

"The  wonderful  resources  of  the  Willamette  Valley 
as  an  agricultural  country  attracted  one  of  them  to 
Washington  County,  where  he  purchased  a  farm,  and 
stocked  it  with  teams  and  farming  implements,  and 
started  on  his  road  to  independence  and  wealth. 

"  He  told  his  neighbors,  who  had  been  in  the  farm- 
ing business  for  years,  that  he  proposed  to  show  them 
how  to  succeed. 

"  He  was  industrious  ;  he  studied  the  books  on  farm- 
ing, and  pursued  his  occupation  on  scientific  principles, 
joined  the  Grangers,  became  an  active  member  of  farm- 
ers' clubs,  was  bitter  in  his  denunciation  of  monopolies. 

"Disliking  the  looks  of  the  old-fashioned  worm- 
fence,  he  divided  his  fields  by  building  nice  plank  par- 
titions, and  even  asked  permission  of  an  old  fogy  neigh- 
bor to  build  the  whole  of  a  partition  fence  of  plank, 
that  the  old  one  might  not  offend  his  fastidious  taste. 
Here  was  mistake  number  one.  The  rail-fence  an- 
swered the  purpose  well  enough,  and  he  ought  to  have 
avoided  the  expense  of  the  costlier  one  at  least  until  a 
new  one  was  necessary.  He  was  from  Indiana,  and 
thought  corn  a  good  crop  to  grow  ;  so  he  prepared  ten 
acres  of  his  best  land  and  planted  them  to  corn  :  the 
squirrels  came  and  took  it  all  up  ;  he  replanted,  and 
again  the  squirrels  took  the  seed  before  it  sprouted  ;  he 
planted  it  once  more,  and  succeeded  in  getting  a  small 
crop  of  poor  corn  which  did  not  mature,  and  it  profited 
him  nothing. 

"This  was  another  blunder,  as  any  man  who  had 
made  any  inquiry  ought  to  have  known  that  the  raising 
of  corn  in  this  valley  was  never  a  paying  business.  A 


QUOTED  EXPERIENCES.  297 

small  patch  for  roasting-ears  for  family  use  is  all  any 
wise  farmer  will  ever  attempt  to  raise. 

"  Again,  our  progressive  farmer  had  been  so  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  the  climate  of  Oregon  was  an  exceed- 
ingly mild  one,  that  he  thought  his  apples  and  potatoes 
were  in  no  danger  of  freezing  ;  so  he  put  his  apples  up- 
stairs, and  left  his  potatoes  uncovered.  Consequently, 
they  were  all  frozen  and  lost. 

"  This  was  an  inexcusable  blunder,  for  any  man  who 
would  look  at  a  map  and  see  that  he  was  located  above 
the  forty-fifth  degree  of  latitude,  should  have  known 
that  any  winter  was  liable  to  be  cold  enough  to  freeze 
unprotected  fruits  and  vegetables. 

"  Our  friend  became  discouraged,  and  gave  more 
attention  to  wheat,  but  found  that  he  could  not  raise 
that  commodity  for  less  than  seventy-five  cents  a  bush- 
el, although  other  farmers  have  asserted  that  the  cost 
did  not  exceed  fifty  cents. 

"  With  his  experience  of  seven  years'  farming  in  Ore- 
gon, he  is  perfectly  satisfied  that  it  will  not  pay,  and 
hence  he  is  back  in  Portland,  intending  to  stay.  The 
corn,  apple,  and  potato  business  fixed  him  as  far  as 
farming  is  concerned,  though  he  ought  to  have  known 
that  his  course  in  regard  to  them  would  have  resulted 
just  as  it  did. 

"Our  second  young  man  did  not  like  the  slowness 
of  farming  as  a  means  of  getting  rich,  so  he  put  his 
money  in  sheep,  and  took  up  a  ranch  in  Wasco  County. 

"  For  a  few  years  he  was  encouraged  :  as  the  grass 
grew,  his  stock  increased  ;  the  winters  were  mild,  and 
wool  brought  a  good  price. 

"  He  raised  some  feed,  and  for  three  years  had  no  use 
for  it,  as  the  sheep  made  their  own  living  oft'  the  range. 


298  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

"  He  thought  when  the  cold  snap  set  in  last  winter 
that  he  had  enough  feed  to  last  through  any  winter 
that  could  reasonably  be  expected.  But  the  cold  winds 
continued  to  blow,  the  snow  fell  and  froze,  and  con- 
tinued to  fall  and  freeze. 

"Two  months  passed  ;  his  feed  was  exhausted,  and 
his  sheep  began  to  die.  Out  of  4,300  head  3,000  died, 
and  though  a  neighbor  who  started  in  with  about  the 
same  number  had  only  six  head  left,  our  young  friend 
thought  his  own  condition  bad  enough,  and  so  con- 
cluded to  quit  the  business  and  come  back  to  Portland. 
He  says  a  man  can  take  a  thousand  head  of  sheep,  build 
sheds,  provide  food,  and  have  a  sure  thing  to  clear  a 
few  hundred  dollars  every  year,  but  he  did  not  want 
that  kind  of  a  sure  thing. 

"He  made  the  mistake  of  him  who  '  makes  haste  to 
be  rich,'  and  hence  he  retires  from  the  contest  on  that 
line  no  better  off  than  when  he  started  in. 

"  Both  these  men  are  now  in  Portland,  and  each  is 
hopelessly  disgusted  with  the  attempt  he  has  made. 

"  One  thinks  that  farming  in  Oregon  will  never  pay, 
though  there  are  hundreds  of  farmers  all  over  the  State 
who  started  with  less  than  he  did,  and  are  now  well 
situated  and  independent. 

"  The  other  thinks  the  whole  of  Eastern  Oregon,  so 
called,  a  failure,  though  he  virtually  admits  that  his 
lack  of  providence,  and  his  desire  to  make  a  large  sum 
of  money  in  a  short  time,  were  the  causes  of  his  losses." 

Since  we  have  been  in  Oregon  we  have  seen  several 
cases  like  these  examples.  Let  the  intending  emigrant 
weigh  this  well — that  farming  in  the  Willamette  Val- 
ley is  not  the  road  to  large  fortune,  though  it  is  to  com- 
fort and  prosperity. 


COST  AND    WAYS  OF  COMING.  299 

Let  no  young  man,  brought  up  in  a  comfortable 
Eastern  home,  come  to  Oregon  to  farm,  unless  he  can 
be  assured  that  at  the  end  of  a  year  or  two's  probation 
and  apprenticeship  he  can  have  provided  for  him  some 
small  sum  of  money,  enough  for  a  start  on  his  own  land. 
The  life  of  the  agricultural  laborer  in  almost  every 
farmer's  family  here  is  a  very  hard  and  uncomfortable 
one  ;  the  lodging  is  rough,  the  living,  though  plentiful, 
is  often  coarse,  the  hours  of  labor  very  long,  and  the 
employments  on  the  farm  miscellaneous  indeed. 

The  better  thing  is  for  two  friends  or  relatives  to 
come  together  ;  they  may  separate  for  their  apprentice- 
ship, but  their  purchase  may  easily  be  made  together  ; 
and,  indeed,  out  here  two  are  better  than  one. 

And  now  for  some  hints  as  to  the  ways  of  coming, 
and  what  should  and  should  not  be  brought. 

For  the  English  emigrant  there  is  a  large  choice. 
He  may  come  by  any  of  the  New  York  lines,  and 
thence  across  the  continent  to  San  Francisco,  and  on  by 
steamer  to  Portland.  If  he  comes  first  class  through- 
out, he  will  find  the  expense  nearly  £60  sterling,  or 
about  $300.  By  choosing  the  cheaper  cabin  on  the 
steamer,  and  reconciling  himself  to  doing  without  the 
comforts  of  the  Pullman  car,  and  economizing  in  meals 
on  the  journey  across  by  providing  himself  with  a  pro- 
vision-basket, to  be  replenished  at  intervals,  he  may  save 
about  £15,  or  $75.  The  time  is  short ;  three  weeks 
will  bring  him  from  Liverpool  to  Oregon,  unless  he  de- 
lays needlessly  in  New  York,  Chicago,  or  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

In  New  York  let  him  beware  of  cabs  or  carriages. 
He  is  likely  to  be  charged  five  dollars  for  a  ride  he 
will  get  in  London  for  one  shilling.  The  proper  course 


300  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

is  for  him.  after  his  baggage  has  passed  the  custom- 
house, to  intrust  it  to  a  transfer  agent,  who  will  have  it 
conveyed  to  the  hotel,  and  the  emigrant  can  take  the 
elevated  railway  or  get  a  tram-car  ride  for  a  few  cents. 
The  same  course  should  be  followed  on  leaving  the  ho- 
tel for  the  railway  terminus  to  come  West. 

So  far  as  I  know,  he  can  make  no  mistake  in  follow- 
ing his  fancy  in  choosing  his  route. 

The  Erie  or  the  New  York  Central  will  carry  him  to 
Chicago,  by  way  of  Buffalo  and  Niagara ;  and,  if  any 
pause  on  the  journey  at  all  is  made,  let  the  opportunity 
be  seized  of  seeing  the  most  glorious  of  waterfalls,  the 
remembrance  of  which  will  never  die. 

The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  passes  through  Maryland 
and  West  Virginia,  and  the  Pennsylvania  Eailroad 
through  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  and  each  shows 
him  some  of  the  finest  scenery  on  the  Atlantic  slope. 

From  Chicago  he  will  have  a  choice  again.  There 
is  no  difference  in  cost,  time,  or  comfort  between  the 
Chicago  and  Northwestern,  the  Chicago,  Burlington, 
and  Quincy,  and  the  Chicago  and  Eock  Island.  I 
have  traveled  by  all  three  ;  perhaps  the  Chicago,  Bur- 
lington, and  Quincy  runs  through  the  most  interesting 
scenery. 

Up  to  Omaha  the  first-class  traveler  is  allowed  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  baggage  free,  and  so  far 
it  will  be  properly  handled  and  cared  for  by  the  bag- 
gage-men. 

At  Omaha  things  change  for  the  worse.  Only  one 
hundred  pounds  of  baggage  is  allowed  by  the  Union 
Pacific  and  Central  Pacific  roads ;  and  on  all  excess 
the  rate  to  San  Francisco  is  fifteen  cents  a  pound. 
And,  if  the  traveler  has  any  regard  for  his  possessions, 


BAGGAGE-SMASHING.  301 

let  him  see  to  it  that  they  are  closely  packed  in  the  very 
strongest  and  roughest  trunks  that  he  can  procure.  Oh, 
those  baggage-smashers  at  Omaha  !  When  we  crossed 
last  I  stood  by  to  see  a  baggage-car  brought  up  along- 
side the  stone  platform,  piled  with  trunks  and  other 
baggage  to  the  roof,  the  doors  thrown  open,  and  the 
contents  literally  tumbled  out  pell-mell.  Trunks  were 
smashed  open,  locks  broken,  straps  burst,  contents 
ruined.  And  the  baggage-men  seemed  to  take  a  hor- 
rid pleasure  in  tilting  heavy  trunks  on  to  their  corners, 
and  so  bundling  them  across  at  a  rapid  rate  to  the  other 
car ;  dislocation  of  the  strongest  joints  was  the  result. 

If  the  passenger  be  incautious  enough  to  burden 
himself  with  needless  weight  from  Omaha,  he  should 
dispatch  it  to  San  Francisco  by  freight-train  addressed 
to  his  hotel ;  the  rates  are  thus  so  moderated  that  he 
will  not  have  the  chagrin  of  paying  to  the  railroad  com- 
panies about  as  much  as  most  of  his  baggage  is  worth. 

Another  route  from  England  is  by  Southampton  and 
Panama  to  San  Francisco.  The  charge  for  a  first-class 
passage  is  £50,  and  the  traveler  will  not  be  bothered 
about  his  baggage  save  on  the  Isthmus  Railway.  He 
may  lose  no  time  in  catching  the  Pacific  mail-steamer 
on  the  Pacific  side,  but  he  is  more  likely  to  have  three 
or  four  days  to  wait  at  Panama,  in  a  town  where  there 
is  nothing  to  see  or  do,  and  where  he  will  be  charged 
not  less  than  three  dollars  a  day  at  the  hotel.  The 
lovely  scenery  and  gorgeous  vegetation  of  the  tropics 
will  be  a  pleasant  picture  in  memory,  whatever  draw- 
backs the  five  weeks  occupied  on  this  route  may  dis- 
cover. 

San  Francisco  is  the  city  of  comfortable  and  moder- 
ately charging  hotels.  The  most  expensive  are  the  Pal- 


302  TWO   TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

ace  and  the  Baldwin.  The  Lick  House  and  the  Russ 
House  are  comfortable  and  more  moderate ;  and  the 
International  is  cheap  but  comfortable. 

From  San  Francisco  to  Portland  the  steamers  Ore- 
gon, Columbia,  or  State  of  California,  sail  every  five 
days,  and  are  each  safe,  speedy,  and  excellent  boats. 
The  cost  of  the  journey  is  twenty  dollars,  and  the  time 
usually  three  days  or  more,  including  a  detention  of 
some  hours  at  Astoria.  As  soon  as  the  Yaquina  route 
is  opened,  it  is  expected  that  this  time  will  be  reduced 
by  one  half. 

And  now,  what  should  the  emigrant  bring  to  Ore- 
gon ?  So  far  as  household  furniture  and  fittings  are 
concerned,  the  best  and  cheapest  way  is  to  send  them 
by  Royal  Mail  from  Southampton  by  way  of  Panama. 
The  freight  was  £4  10s.  per  ton  of  forty  cubic  feet.  I 
do  not  know  if  any  change  has  been  made. 

It  is  wise  for  any  family  to  bring  bedding  (but  not 
beds),  knives  and  forks  and  electro-plate,  books,  pict- 
ures, and  the  little  ornaments  and  trifles  which  go  so 
far  to  transfer  the  home  feeling  to  whatever  room  they 
may  at  once  furnish  and  adorn.  And  do  not  forget  the 
crockery.  It  is  foolish  to  bring  furniture,  pianos,  or 
such  heavy  and  cumbersome  property.  All  these  used 
articles  will  come  in  duty  free.  If  they  are  sent  to 
San  Francisco  direct  from  England,  they  will  have  to 
be  examined  at  the  custom-house  there. 

The  traveler  will  find  it  a  great  waste  of  time  and 
temper  to  pass  his  goods  through  the  custom-house  him- 
self. There  are  many  respectable  agents,  whose  trifling 
fee  is  well  spent  in  getting  their  services  for  this  work. 

As  for  clothes.  New  clothes  will  be  charged  with  a 
duty  of  sixty  per  cent,  of  their  value,  and  cause  trouble 


ATTRACTIONS   WHICH  OREGON  OFFERS.    303 

also.  Worn  clothes  and  boots  come  in  duty  free.  The 
strongest  and  most  durable  woolen  garments  are  those 
best  adapted  for  the  Oregon  climate.  English  ankle- 
boots  are  treasures  not  to  be  obtained  for  love  or  money 
in  Oregon.  The  field-boot,  of  porpoise-skin,  will  be 
infinitely  valuable  in  our  muddy  winters  ;  but  such  are 
too  hot  for  summer  wear.  English  saddlery  should 
all  be  left  at  home. 

If  the  emigrant  is  the  happy  owner  of  a  good 
breech-loader,  let  him  bring  it,  with  as  many  of  Eley's 
green  cases  as  he  can  pack.  Ammunition  is  expensive 
here.  English  rifles  are  a  nuisance.  The  Winchester, 
Sharp,  or  Ballard,  I  think  superior  to  any  sporting 
rifles  we  have — as  much  so  as  the  American  shot-guns 
are  inferior  to  the  English  makers'. 

Let  us  see,  then,  in  a  few  words,  why  we  expect  that 
immigrants  will  continue  to  arrive.  What  are  the  at- 
tractions which  Oregon  offers  ? 

1.  A  healthy  and  temperate  climate,  whether  resi- 
dence in  the  Willamette  Valley  or  in  Southern  or  East- 
ern Oregon  is  chosen. 

2.  A  fertile  and  not  exhausted  soil,  adapted  to  the 
continuous  raising  of  all  cereals,  to  the  growth  of  the 
best  kinds  of  pasture,  and  to  the  ripening  of  all  tem- 
perate fruits  in  profusion  and  excellence. 

3.  A  climate  and  range  unusually  suited  to  cattle, 
sheep,  and  horses  of  the  best  breeds. 

4.  The  ocean  boundary  on  the  west,  giving  free  ac- 
cess to  shipping  for  the  cheap  transport  of  all  produc- 
tions. 

5.  Mineral  wealth  of  almost  every  description,  most 
of  which  is  yet  unworked. 


304  TWO    YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

6.  Industrial  openings  of  many  kinds,  with  special 
facilities  by  way  of  abundant  water-power. 

7.  Beautiful  scenery,  whatever  portion  of  the  State 
may  be  selected  by  the  new-comer. 

8.  Sport  and  pastime  in  moderation,  with  a  notable 
absence  of  dangerous  animals,  and  reptiles,  and  noxious 
insects. 

9.  A  modern  and  liberal  Constitution,  affording  spe- 
cial advantages  and  securities  to  foreigners  and  aliens. 

10.  A  quiet  and  orderly  population,  ready  to  wel- 
come strangers. 

11.  Good  facilities  for  education,  remarkable  in  so 
young  a  country. 

12.  A  railroad  and  river  system  of  transportation, 
only  now  in  process  of  development,  and  which  is  cer- 
tain to  effect  a  great  rise  in  the  value  of  lands. 

And  now  my  work  is  done.  I  have  endeavored  to 
give,  in  as  concise  and  short  a  form  as  I  could  contrive, 
a  faithful  picture  of  life  as  it  is  in  Oregon  to-day.  I 
have  extenuated  nothing,  nor  set  down  aught  in  malice. 

If,  in  reviewing  what  I  have  written,  I  feel  conscious 
of  a  special  weakness,  it  is  that  I  have  brought  too 
strongly  into  view  the  difficulties  the  immigrant  will 
have  to  encounter ;  for  I  feel  sure  that  no  one,  on  full 
knowledge,  will  accuse  me  of  drawing  in  too  fair  and 
nattering  colors  the  attractions  of  our  beautiful  State. 

May  Oregon  flourish  by  receiving  constant  additions 
to  her  vigorous  and  industrious  people,  whose  efforts,  in 
scarcely  any  other  place  in  the  wide  world  so  certain  of 
a  due  return,  may  make  her  waste  places  plain,  and 
cause  her  wildernesses  to  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose  ! 


APPENDIX. 


SINCE  the  foregoing  pages  were  finished,  a  period 
of  six  months  has  passed.  Nothing  has  transpired 
which  should  affect  the  opinions  formed  and  expressed 
by  the  author  in  favor  of  the  attractions  which  Oregon 
offers  to  the  energetic  and  industrious.  The  past  half- 
year  has  been  one  of  successful  development  for  the 
State  as  a  whole.  A  bountiful  harvest,  which  has  been 
vouchsafed  to  Oregon  while  many  Eastern  States  and 
many  European  countries  have  had  to  mourn  because 
of  drought  or  excessive  rain  and  consequent  scarcity, 
has  again  proved  how  highly  favored  by  position  and 
climate  is  this  Western  nook.  And  now,  in  the  early 
days  of  October,  we  have  had  a  week's  rain  to  soften 
the  clods  and  prepare  the  ground  for  tillage,  but  the 
sun  of  the  Indian  summer  is  shining  with  soft  brilliancy, 
and  we  look  for  crisp  nights  and  mornings,  and  lovely 
days,  for  from  six  to  ten  weeks  to  come. 

During  the  six  months,  Eastern  capital  has  been 
prodigally  turned  into  Oregon  and  Washington  Terri- 
tory by  Mr.  H.  Villard  and  his  associates.  New  lines 
of  railway  designed  as  feeders  to  the  Columbia  River 
route  are  being  pushed  to  completion  regardless  of  cost, 
while  the  trunk-line,  along  the  side  of  the  Columbia 


306  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

Kiver,  is  being  still  urged  forward  by  the  united  forces 
of  over  three  thousand  Chinamen  and  all  the  white 
laborers  that  can  be  picked  up.  Time  alone  will  show 
how  far  a  line,  which  winds  and  twists  along  the  banks 
of  the  mighty  Columbia  in  devious  curves,  overhung 
by  mountain-sides  loaded  with  loose  rocks  at  the  mercy 
of  every  winter's  storms,  can  be  trusted  to  carry  the 
enormous  traffic  predicated  for  it ;  and,  granted  that 
this  slender  reed  has  the  necessary  strength,  at  what 
kind  of  port  is  the  hoped-for  mass  of  grain  for  export 
to  be  delivered  ?  The  following  article  appeared  in 
the  "Daily  Oregonian,"  of  Portland,  on  the  10th  of 
this  last  September.  The  newspaper  in  question  claims 
to  be  the  leading  journal  of  the  State,  and  is  in  fact 
the  only  one  publishing  full  daily  telegraphic  dis- 
patches. It  is  also  the  organ  of  the  Villard  interest, 
and  it  may  be  taken  that  it  is  not  likely  to  overstate 
the  disadvantages  attaching  to  the  city  of  its  publica- 
tion : 

"THE  COST  or  NEGLECT. 

"  The  water  in  the  rivers  between  Portland  and  the  ocean 
is  at  about  the  usual  September  stage,  but,  owing  to  the  ab- 
sence of  any  means  whatever  of  dredging  the  bars,  the  depth 
at  the  three  or  four  shoal  places  is  less  than  in  former  seasons. 
Steamers  drawing  seventeen  or  even  seventeen  and  a  half  feet 
come  up  by  plowing  through  a  few  inches  of  mud  at  certain 
points,  but  ships  have  not  the  force  to  go  through,  nor,  in 
many  instances,  the  iron  bottoms  to  stand  the  rub.  It  is  not 
safe  to  load  a  vessel  which  must  pass  down  the  river  more  than 
sixteen  feet.  The  result  is,  that  grain-ships  can  only  be  partly 
loaded  here,  and  must  take  a  large  proportion  of  their  cargoes 
down  the  river.  The  American  ship  Palmyra  went  down 
Thursday  with  900  tons  of  a  total  wheat  cargo  of  2,200.  The 


APPENDIX.  307 

bulk  of  her  load— 1,300  tons— must  be  carried  down  by  barges 
and  taken  in  at  Baker's  Bay.  The  Zamora,  now  taking  wheat 
here,  can  only  be  half  loaded  at  her  Portland  dock.  Lighterage 
costs  $1.25  per  short  ton,  or  six  cents  per  cental.  Thus  the 
Palmyra  must  pay  $1,625  extra  because  the  river  is  not  properly 
dredged.  The  average  of  lighterage  this  season  will  be  about 
three  cents  per  cental  on  all  wheat  that  goes  out  of  the  Colum- 
bia River." 

It  is  not  far  from  the  fact  that,  although  from  sixty 
to  sixty-five  shillings  is  a  well-paying  freight  for  ships 
from  Portland  to  the  United  Kingdom,  and  although 
abundance  of  sailing-ships  are  available  from  the  sub- 
stitution of  steamers  in  so  many  parts  of  the  world,  yet 
the  actual  freight  charged  has  ranged  from  eighty  to 
eighty-five  shillings,  this  resulting  from  a  combination 
of  causes,  of  which  the  charges  for  pilotage,  towage,  and 
lighterage  are  among  the  chief. 

Of  course,  all  these  charges  come  out  of  the  pocket 
of  the  producer,  and,  unless  some  radical  change  can  be 
effected,  there  is  no  apparent  reason  why  these  sums 
should  not  be  cumulated  to  such  a  height  as  to  place 
the  valley  farmer  on  the  level  of  his  Eastern  Oregon 
and  Eastern  Washington  Territory  neighbor,  who  does 
not  realize  for  his  wheat  much  over  thirty-five  cents  a 
bushel  on  an  average  market  price  of  seventy-five  cents. 

Nor  would  there  be  much  hope  of  a  reduction  in  the 
inland  transportation  charges,  were  matters  to  progress 
as  they  have  been  doing  during  the  past  six  months. 
Everything  pointed  toward  the  centralization  of  the 
control  of  every  railroad  and  steamboat  line  in  this 
State  and  the  adjacent  Territory  in  the  hands  of  the 
Oregon  Eailway  and  Navigation  Company,  presided  over 
by  Mr.  Villard.  The  narrow-gauge  system  of  railroads 


308  TWO   YEARS  IN  OREGON. 

in  this  valley,  owned  and  operated  by  the  Scotch  com- 
pany, with  headquarters  at  Dundee,  was  six  months 
back  the  sole  hope  of  the  valley  farmers  as  an  honest 
competitor  with  its  huge  rival.  But  a  few  months  ago 
announcement  was  made  that  Mr.  Villard  had  secured 
the  Scotch  company,  by  a  series  of  astute  operations  in 
Scotland  ;  and  now,  under  the  ninety-nine  years'  lease 
which  he  obtained,  the  narrow-gauge  company  has 
ceased  its  independent  existence,  and  its  traffic  is  being 
assimilated  as  to  rates  with  that  of  its  former  competi- 
tor, while  it  is  so  conducted  as  to  stifle  its  growth  as  a 
separate  organization,  and  throw  all  its  vitality  into  the 
other  roads. 

But  the  anticipations,  expressed  in  the  earlier  pages 
of  this  book,  of  an  active  rivalry  to  the  Oregon  Railway 
and  Navigation  Company,  through  the  Oregon  Pacific 
Railroad  and  its  outlet  at  Yaquina  Bay,  are  being  real- 
ized as  rapidly  as  men  and  money  can  do  it. 

Early  in  July  last  the  news  came  through  the  wires 
that  the  financial  battle  had  been  won  by  Colonel  Hogg, 
and  that  construction  was  to  be  pushed  forward  imme- 
diately. Short  as  the  time  is,  much  has  been  done,  and 
more  is  being  done.  Engineering  parties  were  organ- 
ized and  fitted  out,  and  their  work  is  nearly  complete 
in  all  its  parts.  A  good  line  of  easy  grades  is  located 
through  from  Corvallis  to  Yaquina  Bay,  presenting  no 
extraordinary  difficulties  of  construction.  On  this,  as 
I  write,  a  large  force  of  both  white  and  Chinese  labor 
is  employed,  with  the  full  expectation  that  the  line  will 
be  surveyed,  built,  equipped,  and  running  within  four 
or  five  months  from  the  time  the  first  spadeful  of  earth 
was  dug.  Difficulties  in  starting  a  great  enterprise  like 
the  Oregon  Pacific  Railroad,  of  course,  abound,  but  so 


APPENDIX.  309 

far  have  been  successfully  met.  Meanwhile  the  good- 
will of  the  valley  farmers  has  been  maintained  through- 
out, and  the  new  road  will  open  with  abundance  of 
customers.  Therefore,  all  interested  in  the  undertak- 
ing are  well  satisfied  with  the  prospect  of  having  to 
operate  a  line  which  shall  save  the  valley  farmers  two 
hundred  and  twenty-one  miles  in  actual  distance,  and 
save  them  half  the  present  charges  for  transportation 
between  the  valley  and  San  Francisco,  and  which  gives 
also  an  early  prospect  of  ocean-going  ships  loading  direct 
from  an  Oregon  port,  with  wharves  within  three  miles 
from  the  ocean,  for  the  European  or  Eastern  market. 

It  does  not  seem,  then,  an  unreasonable  augury  that 
the  day  of  exorbitant  freights,  excessive  pilotage  and 
towage  charges,  half-cargo  lighterage,  and  also  of  traffic 
discrimination,  will  have  passed  away  for  ever,  so  far  as 
Oregon  is  concerned,  when  the  Oregon  Pacific  is  opened. 
And  I  think  every  reader  of  this  book  will  admit  that 
it  is  a  matter  of  just  pride  to  see  projects  formed  years 
back,  and  adhered  to  through  much  evil  speaking,  slan- 
der, and  belittling,  come  to  their  full  strength  and  ful- 
fillment. 

The  last  time  I  visited  Yaquina  Bay  was  during  the 
closing  days  of  September.  The  afternoon  sun  shone 
on  the  little  dancing  waves  as  we  rowed  across  from 
Newport  to  the  South  Beach,  where  the  harbor-works 
are  going  on.  A  heavy  equinoctial  storm  had  raged  for 
two  days  before,  and  it  would  have  been  no  surprise  had 
the  incomplete  works  suffered.  Bat  we  found  the  men 
busily  employed  in  piling  large  blocks  of  rock  on  the 
mattresses  made  of  large,  long  bundles  of  brushwood, 
secured  with  cords,  and  deposited  carefully  in  the  line 
of  the  breakwater.  Many  of  the  hands  were  Indians, 


310  TWO    TEARS  IN  OREGON. 

who  were  working  very  intelligently  and  quickly  under 
the  direction  of  our  old  friend  Kit  Abbey.  No  dam- 
age whatever  had  been  done,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
storm  had  piled  the  sand  in  even  layers,  five  or  six  feet 
deep,  on  each  side  of  the  breakwater,  solidifying  and 
strengthening  the  work.  Already  the  channel  nearest 
to  the  beach,  which  had  robbed  the  main  channel  of 
some  of  the  tidal  water,  had  been  permanently  closed. 
And  the  increase  of  the  tidal  in-and-out  flow  thus  caused 
had  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  United  States  en- 
gineer officer  in  charge  the  correctness  of  the  theory  on 
which  the  works  were  designed.  So  that  all  tends  in  the 
one  direction  of  opening  this  harbor,  on  which  so  many 
hopes  are  fixed,  to  ocean-going  ships  of  deep  draught. 

Fortunately,  the  facts  are  being  daily  ascertained, 
tabulated,  and  certified  by  the  independent  authority  of 
the  United  States  engineers  ;  they  have  minute  surveys 
of  the  channel,  and  the  changes  operated  by  the  new 
breakwater  will  be  observed  and  recorded.  Thus,  as 
soon  as  the  time  comes  to  invite  the  shipping  sailing  to 
the  Northwest  coast  to  enter  the  port,  there  will  be  no 
further  room  for  question  as  to  depth  of  water  and  ease 
of  access ;  but  the  facts  will  be  so  patent  and  plain  to 
the  world,  that  no  one  need  be  longer  blinded  by  the 
persistent  misrepresentations  of  interested  parties. 

The  effect  of  the  opening  of  the  Oregon  Pacific 
Railroad,  which  in  two,  or  at  most  three  years  from 
now,  will  meet  at  or  near  Boise  City,  Idaho,  the  lines 
rapidly  pushing  westward  to  that  point,  will  be  mani- 
fold : 

First,  it  will  open  the  new  port  at  Yaquina  to  com- 
merce, and  so  give  the  Willamette  Valley  its  independ- 
ent outlet,  unaffected  by  terror-dealing  bars,  winter  ice, 


APPENDIX.  311 

and  exorbitant  charges.  Second,  it  will  in  its  east- 
ward progress  open  up  to  settlement  a  broad  belt  of 
fertile  and  well-watered  country,  at  present  wellnigh 
untenanted.  Third,  it  will  operate  as  a  check  to  the 
pretensions  of  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation 
Company  to  entire  monopoly  of  the  transportation 
of  the  State,  and  its  boasted  consequent  ability  to  fix 
fares  and  freights  at  its  own  sweet  will. 


14 


THE   END. 


TWO  TEAES  IN  OEEGOK 

By  WALLIS  NASH,  author  of  "  Oregon  There  and  Back 
in  1877."  Second  edition.  With  Illustrations. 
12mo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

The  following  are  a  few  out  of  a  very  large  number 
of  press  notices  : 

From  the  New   York  Sun. 

"  Under  the  title  of  '  Two  Years  in  Oregon,'  by  Wallis  Nash,  we 
have  an  authentic  and  exhaustive  guide-book,  written  for  the  benefit 
of  those  persons  who  intend  to  settle  there.  There  is  nothing  in  this 
volume  to  recall  the  superficial  observations  of  the  ordinary  tourist ; 
yet,  although  the  author  has  confined  himself  to  collecting  information 
of  real  value  to  the  emigrant,  he  has  set  it  forth  in  a  distinct,  un- 
pretentious, and  attractive  way." 

From  the  Springfield  Republican. 

"  For  the  best  picture  of  Oregon  as  it  is  to-day,  we  are  indebted  to 
an  Englishman.  '  Two  Years  in  Oregon '  is  the  title  of  the  book, 
written  by  Wallis  Nash,  and  published  by  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  of  New 
York.  Mr.  Nash  conducted  a  colony  of  his  countrymen  some  time 
since  to  the  neighborhood  of  Corvallis,  a  thriving  town  a  hundred  or 
more  miles  south  of  Portland.  He  did  not  attempt  to  set  up  a  New 
Jerusalem  of  his  own  after  the  example  of  unlucky  Tom  Hughes  in 
the  Rugby  venture,  but  mingled  all  his  interests  with  the  settlers  al- 
ready on  the  ground,  and  good  success  has  evidently  attended  his 
efforts.  Mr.  Nash  has  made  a  thorough  study  of  the  State  and  its 


NOTICES. 

resources.  He  has  considerable  literary  skill,  and  while  his  book  con- 
tains  the  practical  facts  and  statistics  needful  to  the  posting  of  the 
would-be  immigrant,  it  has  besides  enough  racy  descriptive  writing  to 
make  it  attractive  to  the  general  reader.  Oregon  has  two  distinct 
climates.  The  Cascade  Kange,  cutting  the  State  in  halves,  is  the  divid- 
ing line.  On  the  Pacific  side  of  the  mountains,  where  most  of  the  set- 
tlements are  located,  there  are  milder  winters,  cooler  summers,  and  a 
heavier  rain-fall  than  upon  the  plains  stretching  to  the  eastward  of  the 
range.  There,  too,  are  the  heavy  forests  for  which  the  State  is  noted. 
Wheat  is  the  staple  crop  of  the  Oregon  farmers,  and  last  year  there 
was  a  surplus  of  over  one  hundred  thousand  tons  sent  to  market. 
Sheep  husbandry  is  considerably  followed,  and  the  climate  appears 
admirably  adapted  to  the  profitable  raising  of  all  kinds  of  live-stock, 
while  all  the  fruits  and  vegetables  of  the  temperate  zone  yield  remark- 
ably. With  better  transportation  facilities,  a  mixed  agriculture  is 
likely  to  be  pursued  in  the  future.  The  State  has  suffered  much  at 
the  hands  of  transportation  monopolists.  The  Villard  combination 
have  so  far  had  almost  complete  control  of  the  railways  and  water- 
ways, and  the  rates  charged  have  been  enormous.  A  Portland  mer- 
chant's freight  bill  on  some  goods  shipped  recently  from  New  York, 
showed  that  one  third  of  the  whole  amount  was  charged  for  the  water- 
carriage  of  seven  hundred  miles  from  San  Francisco.  The  company's 
railroad  charges  are  still  heavier.  According  to  a  new  schedule  of  re- 
duced rates  from  Portland  to  Walla  Walla,  two  hundred  and  seventy 
miles,  twenty-four  cents  is  the  rate  for  a  bushel  of  wheat,  against  two 
to  four  cents  a  bushel  for  greater  distances  on  Eastern  roads.  Mr. 
Nash  devotes  a  chapter  to  the  iniquities  of  the  Villard  monopoly  which 
bears  so  heavily  upon  the  farming  community.  There  is  prospect, 
however,  that  the  burden  may  be  lightened  when  the  railway  now  build- 
ing eastward  from  Yaquina  Bay  to  a  connection  through  Southwestern 
Idaho  with  the  Union  Pacific  is  completed." 

From  the  Portland  Standard  (Oregon). 

"  Mr.  Nash's  experiences  and  observations  as  set  forth  in  this  book 
are  correct   representations  of   Oregon  life.      His  opinions  are  nut 
biased  and  warped  by  long  residence,  so  as  to  give  everything  a  color 
beyond  the  truth  in  favor  of  the  beauties  and  facilities  of  the  S 
for  persons  desiring  homes,  and  which  would  be  found  to  be 


NOTICES.  3 

by  strangers  seeking  farms  and  residences,  and  consequently  bring 
disappointment  to  them  after  the  trouble  and  expense  of  going  there. 
Mr.  Nash  represents  the  State  as  it  is,  and  his  book  is  calculated  to 
do  far  more  good  as  an  advertising  medium  for  bringing  immigration 
within  her  boundaries  than  the  many  pamphlets  issued  by  immigration 
bureaus,  painting  in  high  colors  beyond  the  truth  the  many  advantages 
which  Oregon  presents.  This  book  should  be  widely  circulated  and 
read.  It  will  attract  immigration  and  capital  to  the  State  with  an 
impetus  not  heretofore  felt." 

From  the  Corvallis  Gazette  ( Oregon). 

This  journal  gives  a  large  number  of  commendatory  extracts,  and 
concludes  its  notice  as  follows :  "  Many  others  are  equally  compliment- 
ary, and  we  are  glad  that  Oregon,  and  especially  the  Willamette  Val- 
ley, are  being  so  well  advertised.  We  understand  the  book  is  having 
a  large  sale." 

From  tJie  Albany  Register  (Oregon). 

" '  Two  Years  in  Oregon,'  by  Wallis  Nash,  is  the  title  of  a  very 
neat  work  just  issued  from  the  press  of  the  Appletons,  New  York.  It 
is  the  impressions  made  and  the  experience  gained  by  the  writer  after 
a  two  years'  residence  in  Oregon,  written  in  a  most  entertaining  and  at- 
tractive style.  It  will  be  read  everywhere  with  pleasure,  as  it  is  a  most 
faithful  description  of  things  and  scenes  as  the  writer  beheld  them. 
The  picture,  to  our  mind,  is  nowhere  overdrawn.  Portland  is  faith- 
fully pictured,  and  *  The  Oregonian '  so  faithfully  portrayed  that  its 
poor  editor  will  never  forgive  the  writer." 

From  the  Philadelphia  Press. 

"  Mr.  Nash's  book  describes  the  State  in  the  most  practical  man- 
ner. It  describes  the  scenery,  the  society,  the  legislative  peculiarities, 
the  economical  advantages  and  disadvantages,  the  state  of  the  indus- 
tries, the  transportation  question,  and  all  the  various  points  which  a 
possible  emigrant  might  wish  to  know  before  he  took  the  decisive 
step.  It  is  written  in  a  pleasant,  vivacious  style,  and  can  be  read  with 
much  profit  by  any  one  who  takes  an  interest  in  our  own  great 
West." 


4  PRESS  NOTICES. 

From  the  Sheffield  and  Rotherham  Independent  (England). 

"  Mr.  Nash's  '  Two  Years  in  Oregon  '  is  one  of  the  most  charming 
books  we  have  lately  come  across.  He  is  a  shrewd  and  careful  ob- 
server, and  writes  with  grace  and  ease.  The  illustrations,  also,  of  the 
book  are  more  than  ordinarily  clever.  Mr.  Nash  evidently  feels  a 
warm  interest  in  Oregon,  and  his  book  will  go  a  long  way  to  attract 
public  interest  in  that  direction.  Few  men  can  tell  a  story  better,  or 
enable  readers  to  realize  more  vividly  the  appearance  of  a  country 
and  people  they  have  never  seen.  The  emigrant,  the  politician,  the 
student  of  men  and  manners,  the  naturalist  and  the  political  econo- 
mist, will  all  enjoy  this  book,  which  we  hope  will  soon  be  followed  by 
a  fresh  work  from  its  author's  pen." 

From  the  University  Press. 

"  This  book  has  for  its  author  an  Englishman  who  visited  Oregon 
in  1877,  and  who  then  traveled  *  its  length  and  breadth.'  He  moved 
his  family  there  in  1879.  He  now  sends  out  this  interesting  and  in- 
structive volume  in  answer  to  the  many  letters  received  by  him  asking 
for  information.  He  is  an  easy,  simple,  unostentatious  writer.  We 
believe,  as  he  says,  that  he  has  endeavored  to  give  *  a  faithful  picture 
of  life  as  it  is  in  Oregon  to-day.'  He  has  good  descriptive  powers, 
and  has  enlivened  his  book  with  several  amusing  incidents." 

From  the  Chicago  Times. 

"  This  book  is  the  work  of  a  man  who  has  lived  two  years  in  the 
State,  with  an  observant  eye,  an  apparently  judicial  and  impartial 
mind,  and  a  ready  and  fluent  pen.  It  embraces  pretty  much  every- 
thing in  the  way  of  information  about  the  region  which  any  emigrant 
would  like  to  know  on  pretty  much  all  of  its  natural,  social,  and 
political  features.  It  is,  indeed,  almost  a  guide-book  to  the  region, 
but  is  one  quite  out  of  the  usual  sort,  enlivened  with  a  great  fund  of 
personal  and  local  anecdote  and  incident,  which  serves  to  make  it  very 
interesting  reading.  It  offers  to  the  public  a  more  complete  compen- 
dium of  information  about  one  of  the  most  interesting,  at  least,  of 
American  localities,  than  can  elsewhere  be  found  in  the  same  space  ; 
and  as  one  of  the  chief  final  centers  around  which  American  civiliza- 
tion promises  to  reach  its  ultimate  development,  everything  connected 
with  it  is  of  interest,  not  only  to  Americans,  but  to  people  abroad  also." 


PRESS  NOTICES.  5 

From  the  New   York  Evening  Mail  and  Express. 

"  It  would  be  impossible  in  a  brief  notice  to  state  even  the  sub- 
stance of  this  book,  which  is  packed  with  information  of  all  sorts, 
information  procured  and  conned  by  himself,  which  neglects  nothing 
that  a  would-be  emigrant  ought  to  inquire  into,  which  is  close  in 
observation,  terse  in  deduction,  good-tempered,  warm-hearted,  hard- 
headed,  and,  what  is  more  than  all  this,  thoroughly  amusing." 

From  the  Utica  Observer. 

"  A  book  like  this  is  especially  timely.  The  author,  Wallis  Nash, 
is  an  English  settler  in  the  great  Willamette  Valley,  and  discourses  of 
his  adopted  home  with  the  tone  of  an  avowed  advocate  of  its  soil  and 
climate.  He  combats  with  his  own  observations  and  the  official 
weather  reports  the  wide-spread  belief  that  Oregon  is  a  land  of  per- 
petual rains,  and  presents  altogether  the  most  comprehensive  sketch 
of  the  existing  industries  and  possible  development  of  the  State  which 
has  yet  been  published." 

From  the  Chicago  Inter- Ocean. 

"  Mr.  Nash  narrates  his  own  experiences,  and  gives  a  detailed  ac. 
count  of  the  agricultural,  business,  and  social  resources  of  the  State 
in  an  obviously  impartial  manner." 

From  the  Chicago  Journal. 

"In  the  year  1877  the  author  of  this  volume  visited  Oregon, 
traveled  through  its  length  and  breadth,  and,  on  returning  to  his  home 
in  England,  published  a  book  giving  a  short  account  of  his  journey, 
and  recommending  the  country  as  a  desirable  one  in  which  to  settle. 
A  few  months  afterward  he  left  England  at  the  head  of  a  party  of 
twenty-six  persons,  and,  upon  arriving  in  Oregon,  settled  at  Corvallis, 
a  pleasant  little  village  on  the  banks  of  the  Willamette  River.  After 
a  continuous  residence  of  two  years  in  that  far  Western  State,  Mr. 
Nash  again  gives  the  result  of  his  experience,  as  a  guide  to  the 
emigrant  who  may  intend  to  make  Oregon  his  future  home.  He 
presents  in  a  favorable  view  the  agricultural  and  business  prospects 
of  the  country ;  the  social  and  political  life  of  the  people,  and  while 
he  does  not  claim  that  a  competence  can  be  secured  without  persever- 


6  PRESS  NOTICES. 

ing  industry,  he  maintains  that  the  inducements  offered  to  the  enter- 
prising  and  energetic  are  such  that  in  a  few  years  the  emigrant  of 
moderate  means  and  some  experience  will  be  able  to  acquire  a  home 
and  pecuniary  independence.  The  book  contains  a  vast  amount  of  in- 
formation useful  to  the  emigrant,  and  it  is  written  in  a  pleasant,  chatty 
style.  The  descriptions  of  the  varied  scenery,  the  character  sketches 
of  the  settlers,  and  the  laughable  incidents  recounted,  give  an  addi- 
tional pleasure  to  the  volume,  which  is  enriched  by  several  illustra- 
tions of  Oregon  scenery." 

From  the  St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press  (Minnesota). 
"Any  thorough  description  of  Oregon,  its  resources,  and  the  people 
who  settle  in  it,  must  win  many  eager  and  interested  readers.  But, 
to  do  full  justice  to  Mr.  Nash,  he  has  taken  but  little  advantage  of  this 
fact.  His  book,  which  he  modestly  styles  '  a  guide-book  to  Oregon  for 
the  intending  emigrant,'  is  far  more  than  this.  It  is  a  pains-taking 
description  of  the  natural  features  of  a  great  Pacific  State ;  of  its  soil, 
climate,  and  productive  qualities ;  of  its  past  development  and  future 
promise;  of  its  leading  industries  and  its  adaptation  to  others;  in 
short,  of  all  that  a  man  who  has  lived  in  Oregon  with  his  eyes  open 
might  be  expected  to  find  out,  and  all  about  which  one  who  has  not 
lived  there  might  be  expected  to  wish  information.  There  are  in 
existence  very  few  works  which  tell  in  such  short  compass  as  much 
about  any  State  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  There  are  very  many 
points  in  this  hand-book  which  it  would  be  interesting  to  present  in 
detail,  but  nothing  less  than  a  careful  reading  will  suffice.  The  story 
told  by  the  writer  about  the  outrageous  swindling  out  of  their  land 
grant  of  the  men  who  constructed,  at  great  sacrifice,  the  greatest 
wagon  highway  in  Oregon,  deserves  investigation.  If  Mr.  Nash  is 
correct,  the  farmers  of  Oregon  have  no  reason  to  love  Mr.  Villard  or 
his  transportation  company.  The  greatest  drawback  to  the  settling 
up  of  the  State  is  the  iron  grip  and  remorseless  extortions  of  the  rail- 
ways. This  book  is  from  beginning  to  end  thoroughly  readable.  It 
furnishes  more  information  than  whole  folios  of  statistics,  or  any 
number  of  glowing  descriptions  by  hasty,  prejudiced,  and  uninformed 
correspondents." 

from  the  Chicago  Evening  Herald. 

"  Mr.  Nash's  data  were  gathered  during  a  two  years'  residence,  and 
are  so  well  digested  and  so  thoroughly  re-enforced  by  the  practical  and 


PRESS  NOTICES.  7 

personal  experiences  of  the  writer  and  his  friends,  that  the  most 
captious  critic  can  not  reasonably  pick  many  flaws  therein.  Mr.  Nash 
is  evidently  not  only  a  close  observer,  but  an  eminently  practical  man, 
and  in  describing  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  Oregon,  keeps 
constantly  in  view  the  information  which  other  practical  men,  seeking 
a  location,  would  be  likely  to  need  and  appreciate.  A  great  many 
chatty  and  amusing  pages  are  devoted  to  anecdotes  of  early  and  later 
life  in  Oregon,  and  to  the  fortunes  and  misfortunes  of  those  who 
sought  first  to  subdue  the  virgin  soil  of  that  State.  Some  of  the  con- 
cluding chapters  of  the  book  are  devoted  to  a  very  intelligent  discus- 
sion of  the  existing  transportation  problems  in  Oregon.  All  in  all,  the 
work  is  not  only  readable,  but  has  an  intrinsic  value  which  those  who 
wish  to  know  all  about  the  terra  incognita  of  which  it  treats  will 
thoroughly  appreciate." 

From  the  Janesville  Gazette. 

"  The  book  contains  a  vast  amount  of  information  useful  to  the 
emigrant,  and  it  is  written  in  a  pleasant,  chatty  style.  The  descrip- 
tions of  the  varied  scenery,  the  character  sketches  of  the  settlers,  and 
the  laughable  incidents  recounted,  give  an  additional  pleasure  to  the 
volume,  which  is  enriched  by  several  illustrations  of  Oregon  scenery." 

From  the  Detroit  Evening  News. 

"  Mr.  Nash  has  just  written  for  the  benefit  of  his  old  friends  and 
neighbors  in  England  a  little  book  relating  his  observations  and  ex- 
periences during  his  first  two  years  of  frontier  life.  It  contains  much 
interesting  information  about  Oregon  and  its  people,  and  coming  from 
a  disinterested  source  will  be  especially  acceptable  to  those  contem- 
plating removal  to  that  State." 

From  the  Columbia  Dispatch  (Wisconsin). 

"  It  is  a  compendium  of  information,  and  will  be  an  addition  to 
any  library." 

From  tJie  Boston  Journal. 

"  Mr.  Nash  writes  especially  for  the  benefit  of  emigrants  and  in- 
tending settlers,  but  the  book  will  have  an  interest  for  all  readers  who 
like  to  trace  the  developments  of  social  and  political  institutions  in  a 
swiftly  growing  State.  The  author  writes  with  enthusiasm,  but  frankly 


8  PBES8  NOTICES. 

and  sometimes  critically ;  and  he  has  collected  a  good  deal  of  valuable 
information,  which,  together  with  the  results  of  his  own  experience, 
lie  presents  in  an  animated  and  pleasant  manner." 

From  the  Christian  at  Work. 
"  It  is  a  capital  book." 

From  the  Ann  Arbor  Chronicle. 

"  To  read  the  book  is  like  making  a  trip  to  Oregon  without  the 
tediousness  and  expense  of  the  journey."  J 

From  the  Milwaukee  Sentinel. 

"  The  reader  instinctively  feels  that  here  is  a  careful,  temperate 
guide,  who  can  be  absolutely  trusted." 

From  the  Springfield  Union  (Massachusetts). 
"  A  valuable  book." 

From  the  New   York  World. 

"  It  is  a  description  of  the  country  and  of  life  in  Oregon  that  is 
worth  reading  by  anybody  who  may  for  any  reason  be  interested  in 
the  subject." 

From  the  Cincinnati  Commercial. 

"  A  fascinating  book." 

From  the  San  Jose  Mercury  (California). 

"  A  highly  interesting  and  instructive  volume,  marked  by  fairness 
of  statement  and  honesty  of  opinion." 

From  the  Omaha  Republican  (Nebraska). 

"  Mr.  Nash  has  written  a  most  interesting  volume.  His  powers  of 
description  are  simply  magnificent,  and,  with  such  an  expansive  theme 
before  him,  he  has  wrought  out  a  book  that  will  no  doubt  have  ready 
sale,  and  do  a  great  measure  of  good  in  placing  the  advantages  of 
Oregon  most  entertainingly  before  a  large  and  choice  number  of 
readers." 


PRESS  NOTICES. 


9 


From  the  Philadelphia  North  American. 

"It  is  a  very  good  report  which  Mr.  Nash  has  to  make  of  the 
State,  and  of  the  people  by  whom  it  is  inhabited ;  and  as  he  tells  his 
tale  in  the  plain,  straightforward  way  of  a  man  who  is  relating  facts, 
and  nothing  but  facts,  and  who  simply  desires  to  make  known  the 
truth,  it  can  not  fail  to  make  a  favorable  impression." 

Cordial  commendatory  notices  of  the  work  have 
appeared  also  in  the  following  journals  : 


Albany  (Oregon)  Herald. 
Benton  (Oregon)  Leader. 
State  Eights  Democrat  (Albany, 

Oregon). 

San  Francisco  Argonaut. 
San  Francisco  Chronicle. 
San  Francisco  Bulletin. 
Montreal  Daily  Star. 
New  York  Herald. 
Kansas  City  Times. 
Buffalo  Courier. 
Kansas  City  Journal. 
Worcester  Daily  Spy. 
Philadelphia  Business  Advocate. 
Holyoke  Paper  World. 
Albany  (New  York)  Evening  Jour- 

nal. 

Akron  (Ohio)  Gazette. 
Syracuse  Daily  Journal. 
Pittsburg  Gazette. 
Syracuse  Herald. 
Charleston  (South  Carolina)  News 

and  Courier. 


Chicago  Tribune. 

Albany  Argus. 

Cincinnati  Gazette. 

Boston  Post. 

Montreal  Gazette. 

Boston  Gazette. 

Philadelphia  Times. 

New  York  Observer. 

Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

Harrisburg  (Pennsylvania)  Patriot. 

Boston  Times. 

Portland  (Maine)  Argus. 

Petersburg  (Vriginia)  Index  and 

Appeal. 

Davenport  (Iowa)  Gazette. 
Albany  .Country  Gentleman. 
Cincinnati  Times. 
Boston  Commonwealth. 
Boston  Courier. 
Pittsburg  Telegram. 
Brooklyn  Times. 
Indianapolis  Sentinel. 
Boston  Journal. 


Providence  Press. 


For  sale  by  att  booksellers;  or  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price. 


D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  Publishers,  1,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street,  New  York. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


2Dec'56HJ 
*  *° 


5Aug58AB 


REC'D 


LD  21-100// 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


2.04C8 


